©ARC Page 191 Effects of Co-Operative Learning Approach on Secondary School Students ’ Academic Achievement in Agriculture in

Abstract: This study aimed at investing the effect of Co-operative Learning Approach (CLA) on students’ academic achievement in secondary school Agriculture. A non-equivalent control group design under quasi-experimental research was used. Four schools were randomly selected from the sub-county’s co-education schools. One Form one class was selected from each school for the study. A total of 154 students were involved. Random assignment was done to place two of the selected schools in the experimental group and two schools in the control group. The instrument used was the Agriculture Achievement Test (AAT) which was pilot-tested and validated before use. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.762. All the selected four classes were taught the topic ‘Factors Influencing Agriculture ’ for four weeks. The teachers who used CLA went through an induction workshop prior to the treatment. The instrument (AAT) was then administered to all. After treatment, the data collected were analyzed using t-test of independent samples. The null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study show an improved academic achievement in Agriculture among the students where CLA was used. Therefore the use of CLA enhances the learning of Agriculture and the researchers recommend its use in teaching of secondary school Agriculture