ABSTRACT

The TThe study investigated the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring and competitive learning strategy on students’ interest and academic achievements in senior secondary physics in Abia State. The study was guided by eight research questions and eight hypotheses using pretest and post test quasi experimental design. The population of the study comprised Physics students in all the Government Secondary Schools in Abia State. A sample of 148 Physics students found in eight intact classes drawn using simple random sampling were used for the study. Two instruments were used for data collection: Measure of Physics Students’ Interest Scale (MPSIS) and Physics Achievement Test (PAT) which were developed by the researcher. The validity and reliability of the instruments were established. For the MPSIS, face validity was utilized, while PAT was established using face and content validity. The reliability of the instruments was established using test retest method for MPSIS and Kuder Richardson formula 21 (KR-21) for PAT. The reliability of MPSIS and PAT were computed using Cronbach Alpha and Kuder Richardson formula 21 and the reliability coefficients of 0.82 and 0.79 respectively were obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while analysis of Covarience (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. From the result of the analysis, it was found that the mean achievement score of the students in Physics Interest Scale and Physics Achievement Test were higher when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring and competitive learning strategy than the lecture method. The male students mean interest and achievement scores was higher than the female students in Physics interest and achievement test scores when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring and competitive learning strategy. The students in rural areas had higher mean achievement scores in Physics when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring and competitive learning strategies than those taught using lecture method. The result of the hypotheses revealed that there was a significant difference in the mean interest and achievement scores of students in Physics when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring, competitive learning strategy and lecture method. There was a significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female students in Physics when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring, competitive learning strategy and lecture method. There was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students in rural and urban schools in Physics when taught using reciprocal peer tutoring, competitive learning strategy and lecture method. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the reciprocal peer tutoring and competitive learning strategy be incorporated in the new curriculum to supplement existing methodologies in order to enhance students’ interest and achievement in Physics.