EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGY ON ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION OF LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS IN READING COMPREHENSION

ABSTRACT

The study investigates the Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy on Achievement Motivation of Low Achieving Students in Reading Comprehension. The area of the study was Nsukka educational zone of Enugu State, Nigeria.Four research questions and three null hypotheses were generated to guide the study. The design of the study was a quasi- experimental non- equivalent pretest– posttest control group design involving one experimental group and one control group. The sample size consists of two hundred and three (203) identified low achieving SSII students from two schools in Nsukka Local Government Area in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. Two instruments were used for the study- Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) and Achievement Motivation Rating Scale (AMRS). These instruments were validated by experts and used for  data  collection. Mean and  standard deviation  were  used to  answer the  research questions while analysis of  covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the  hypotheses. Major findings  of  the  study  reveal  that  cooperative  learning  strategy  has  some  influence  on achievement motivation of  low achieving students in reading comprehension.   There is no significant difference in the mean achievement motivation scores in reading comprehension of male and female low achieving students exposed to cooperative learning strategy. Instructing low achieving students in cooperative learning strategy has a significant effect on their achievement motivation in reading comprehension. The interaction effect of cooperative learning strategy and gender on achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension was not statistically significant. Based on these findings, conclusions were drawn and the educational implications discussed. Major recommendations were made: First, adoption of cooperative learning strategy in schools will expose low achieving students to constant and active participation in their learning process. It will enable low achieving students to learn, retain and recall concepts, ideas and principles when they take part in the learning process. Second, both male and female low achieving students should be exposed to cooperative learning strategy without any form of discrimination since they benefit equally from such exposure. Third, teachers should expose their students to cooperative learning strategy and encourage students to demonstrate the techniques among their peers  in order to improve low achieving students performance in reading comprehension.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Reading is  very important in the  life of every  learner. Reading is one of the  most fundamental media for acquiring and promoting knowledge at all levels of education. It is a language skill that aims at facilitating the acquisition and development of literacy skills needed for effective communication in different contexts. The Federal Government of Nigeria seems to have realized this  by stating  in her National Policy on Education that one of the goals of secondary education is to inculcate permanent literacy, numeracy and ability to communicate effectively in the recipient (FGN, 2004).

Reading is the cornerstone for a child’s success in school and indeed, throughout life (Onukaogu, 2002). Reading is a dynamic process in which the reader actively participates. It is an interaction among the reader, text and the reading situation. It is a progressive development of skills ranging from the recognition of verbal words to the interpretation and evaluation of reading materials of greater complexity. Reading is the act of communication in which information is transferred from a transmitter to a receiver (Smith, 2001). Reading is the process by which the reader makes personal connection with a text to construct meaning. The success of any reading depends entirely on the intensive and extensive reading a child is able to do (Kolawole, 2005). Reading is meaningless if a reader cannot understand a text being read. It is comprehension that centers on understanding.

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. Comprehension is the process in which readers construct meaning by interacting with text through the connection of prior knowledge

and previous experience in relationship to the text (Duke, 2003). Comprehension goes beyond getting  the   facts  straight.  It  is  the  interpretation  and  understanding  of  what  is  read. Comprehension is not peculiar to English language alone. Its importance embraces all fields of knowledge. Comprehension is not something that happens after reading. It is the thinking done before,  during  and  after  reading  (Biemiller  and  Bootee,  2006).  To  be  able  to  accurately understand written material, students need to be able to decode what they read, make connection between what they read and what they already know and think deeply about what they have read. Most students who are explicitly taught reading comprehension skills are likely to learn, develop and use them spontaneously (Collins, Block and Presley, 2001). Comprehension may be difficult without  a  thorough reading  of a  given  text  and  then  taking  into  account  the  background knowledge of the reader.

Reading  comprehension  is  the  active  process  of  constructing  meaning  through  the dynamic interaction among the reader, the text and the content of the reading material (Idogo,

2011). Reading comprehension could be described as the processing of written language to get ideas, relating to experience, organizing ideas, evaluating and utilizing the ideas for required purpose. It combines the elements of the reader, the text and the activity of the reading (Snow,

2002). Reading comprehension is not a passive one way but it is an active two way process in which the reader and the text interact to construct meaning (Clara, 1997). In reading comprehension some intellectual preparations are needed by the reader in order to comprehend. This is because comprehension is not only getting meaning from printed symbols on pages of paper. Reading comprehension is not found on the printed symbols but in the mind of the reader who read the printed texts. This is why comprehension becomes building bridges between the known  and  the  unknown.  Reading  comprehension  therefore,  involves  interpretation  and

alteration of what is read in accordance with prior knowledge. It also involves a lot of inference making and this is why it is an active and constructive process which involves the use of textual cues and the reader’s background knowledge to build a model of the author’s intended meaning.

Good reading comprehension is the most critical element in school learning (Rathvon, 2004). The need to read for comprehension permeates all the school subjects in the social sciences, humanities and  sciences.  Success  in  school requires that  learners  read  for  comprehension. Reading for comprehension is not just reading with loud voice but to be able to understand the meaning of words, sentences and paragraph as well as sense relationship among the  ideas (Simanjunkak, 1998).

In this study, reading comprehension is the active process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with the text. Whenever a student just read loudly but cannot understand the content of the text, it means that he fails in comprehending the passage. Students who struggle with reading comprehension fail to realize that reading is active searches for meaning, they are often fearful, anxious about reading and many avoid reading at all cost. As a result, these students lack the ability to decode words, understand as they read through text and strategies necessary for becoming proficient readers and sometimes they are labeled low achieving students (Sousa, 2002).

Low achieving students are those who consistently do not perform according to expectation in the classroom (Berger, 1990 & Sousa, 2002). Berger et al describe low achieving students as those who as a result of high level of self-doubt and procrastination at school do not show interest or perform high in their studies. Low achieving students need to be helped to break the barrier of failure. The quest for improving the condition of low achieving students’ academic

performance has placed a considerable demand on teachers (Smith, 2005). Low achievement can be influenced by a combination of factors both in the home and at school (Sousa, 2003). On the basis of current research in cognitive development and reading comprehension, two important reasons for students’ low achievement in any academic area can be  identified as (1) their inadequate understanding of how to select, adapt and monitor strategies for learning and (2) their insufficient motivation to apply actively the understanding they have. If students see themselves as failure, they may eventually place self – imposed limits on what is possible.  It can be as a result of behavior pattern which learners develop through consistent failure.

They can still learn and achieve higher in school if provided with the appropriate help (OgbanniaChukwu – Etu, 2009). Low achieving students need assistance in regaining self- confidence in their academic abilities and in developing strategies for coping with failure and persisting  with  problem  –solving  effort  when  they  experience  difficulties.     Bewaji  and Ugwuegwu (2000) point out that many secondary school students perform below expectation because they lack some reading comprehension skills required for effective study in a particular subject  area.  Katims,  (1997)  in  Adimora (2012)  states that  low  achieving students usually manifest inability to read, understand and answer questions correctly. Katims further explain that students who have wrong understanding usually provide wrong answers. Many of their teachers lack appropriate teaching method and skills to motivate and encourage these students in order to break  the  barrier  of  failure.  Teachers often test  student  reading  comprehension instead  of teaching  them  how  to  read and  comprehend. They usually employ the  traditional learning approach where reading is seen as a solo affair in which the learner is hooked to its text and they are not encouraged to read and dialogue with peers or in groups (Isiugo, 2002).

In this  study,  low  achieving  students are  those who  have  consistently failed  below average grade level in school. Low achieving students fail because they are quitters, show little concern about low grades, engage in maladaptive academic behavior and lack the energy needed to concentrate on school work.

In spite of the importance of reading comprehension towards the attainment of academic achievement of every learner  in school, students comprehension has  been consistently low (Kolawole, 1999&Ugwuegwu, 2000). Kolawole et al explain that students find it difficult to read and understand comprehension passages and that usually affects their performance negatively. This has been a source of worry to parents, teachers and curriculum experts as well as state and federal governments.  A close analysis of student achievements in different school subject areas such as: English Language, Mathematics, Literature in English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics examinations  in  the  last  four  years  (2010-2013)  shows  clearly  the  deteriorating  state  of secondary school students’ achievements in the subjects. Reports by WAEC Chief Examiner (2010) revealed that only 24.94% of 310,077 candidates who sat for the Nov/Dec WASSCE obtained five credits in English Language, Mathematics and three other subjects. Similarly in

2011,  2012  and  2013  similar  results  were  recorded as  only 30.99%,  25.99% and  29.27% obtained credit pass and above in five subjects including English and mathematics. These are indication of low achieving students in reading comprehension, which may be due to poor teaching or lack of achievement motivation on the part of students or the perceived phobia from the subjects.

The weaknesses of the candidates were also traced to inability to read, comprehend and answer question correctly Katims, (1997) in Adimora (2012). These made candidates provide answers that were wrong. The problem was more obvious in comprehension and summary

exercise in English Language where they were required to read and draw inference since the answers were not given. The reports have it that candidates lost a lot of marks as a result of lifting “seeming answers” from the passage and that many candidates were yet to come to grips with the skills of comprehension (WAEC, 2011). Reports of student massive failure from West African Examination Council (WAEC) external examiners is a pointer to the fact that there are possible  vast  numbers of low  achieving  students in Nigeria secondary school and  Nsukka Education zone in particular.

The issue of academic achievement of students at all levels of Education in Nigeria especially at  secondary school level is  very crucial and  has been addressed from different dimension  by researchers.  Reyes  and  Green  (1990)  for  instance,  pointed out  that  the  low achieving students need special attention in their work because their level of motivation towards learning is usually very low and attitude to learning is usually negative. Aremu (2001) further stressed that there is need to develop strategies, methods and materials that can increase motivation and attitude of low achieving students. The idea of need achievement theory that is based on achievement  motivation to  succeed in whatever activities one engages in  is  very crucial. A behaviour can be considered achievement motivated when it involves competition with a standard of excellence. The striving for excellence implies quality standard against which performance can be evaluated, people may compare their current performance with their own previous performance (to excel oneself) for instance or with that of others (to rival or surpass others). People who strive for excellence in a field for the sake of achieving and not for some reward are considered to have achievement motivation.

Achievement motivation is the desire to accomplish difficult task, overcome obstacles and attain a high standard of excellence. Achievement motivation can be defined as a drive to

excel in learning tasks combined with the capacity to experience difficulty in accomplishment (Eggen&Kauchak, 1994).  Achievement  motivation  can  be  seen  as  self  –  determination to succeed in what activities one engages in, be it academic work, professional work, sporting activities among others (Gesinde, 2002). Achievement motivation is also based on reaching success and achieving all aspirations in life. Achievement motivation is an individual desire to accomplish different task, attain high standard and excel oneself (Burger, 1997). It is the patterns of action and feelings connected to striving to achieve some internalized standard of excellence in performance. It is the expectancy of feeling satisfaction in mastering challenges and different performance. It is called the pursuit of excellence (Nirmala Devi, 2011).

Achievement goals can affect the way an individual performs a task and represent a desire to show competence (Barron & Elliot, (1997).Achievement goal is a general motivation theory, which refers to the fact that the type of goal toward which a person is working has a tremendous  impact  on  how  they  pursue  the  goal  (Elliot,  2005).  Elliot  conceptualized achievement goal in terms of mastering goal, performance goal and avoidance goal: mastery goal focus on developing one’s abilities,  mastering a new skill,  trying to accomplish something challenging, and trying to understand learning materials. Success is evaluated in terms of self- improvement, and students derive satisfaction from the inherent qualities of the task, such as its interest and challenge. Students who have what is called a “mastery goal in the achievement goal are willing to put forth a lot of effort to “master” a skill or concept. In general, students with a mastery goal will work very hard, persist in the face of difficulty and frustration, willing to take risks, ask questions in class, and seek out new ideas. By contrast, a performance goal represents a focus on demonstrating high ability relative to others, striving to be better than others, and using social  comparison  standards  to  make  judgments  of  ability  and  performance.  A  sense  of

accomplishment is derived from doing better than others and surpassing normative performance standards. Students view  mistakes  as  evidence  of lack  of competence and  therefore to  be avoided(Pintrich,  2000).  These  students  are  only  interested  in  what  is  required  for  the grade.While Avoidance goal focus on avoiding negative possibilities. Mastery-avoidance goals entail striving to avoid doing worse than one has done before. Performance-avoidance goals also focus on a potential positive vs. negative outcome, respectively (Van Yperen, 2006).

Motivation as it relates to students is very important, individual motives for achievement can range from biological needs to satisfying creative desires or realizing success in competitive ventures. Motivation is the moving force that energizes behavior towards a goal. Motivation regulates and directs student’s behavior, actions, thoughts and beliefs to succeed (Brunstein and Maier, 2005). Students who have high achievement motivation are hard workers that always prefer to work on a problem rather than leaving the outcome to chance. Students with high achievement motivation have zeal towards their success. They seem to be more concerned with their personal achievement rather than the rewards of success. It can be assumed that students with low achievement motivation taught with cooperative learning strategy could improve their comprehension in reading. Schunk (2008) States that achievement motivation tries to combine needs, expectancies and values into a comprehensive framework. Schunk further explain that behavior is a multiplicative function of these three components of students low achievement motivation. Students who have low achievement motivation are depressed, have low self-esteem, find it difficult to make decisions and the energy needed to concentrate on school work. They tend tobe lazy, have low aspiration; the students are not ambitious to achieve their goal in learning especially in reading comprehension. Highly motivated students perform higher academically than the lowly motivated students (Tella, 2007).

In this study, achievement motivation refers to the desire to attain a high standard of excellence and to accomplish meaningful goal. Achievement motivation energizes and sustains students to become engaged in learning activities.  Students therefore, need motivation to learn, parents need it to track the educational progress of their sons and daughters; teachers need it to become better teachers; and school administrators need it to ensure that every facet of the school they manage continues to improve.  Ohia and Adeosun (2002) states that the teaching strategies for reading comprehension in most secondary school are not learner- centered.  Ofodu (2003) explain that the approach teachers adopt in the teaching and learning has been relying on how teacher will interact with students (teacher – centered), this teacher centered is what this study considers as the  conventional method. It  is  conventional in the sense  that  most traditional classrooms apply this strategy in the teaching and learning activities.  But students – student’s interaction is a neglected aspect of instruction. It should not be. How teachers structure students

– students interaction  pattern  has a lot to say about how well students learn, feel about school, their teacher, how they feel about each other and the self – esteem they have (Johnson, 2009). Just as “two good heads are better than one” having students work together in a cooperative learning activity could result in a high level of learning and achievement than could be obtained individually.

Cooperative learning strategy is a teaching strategy in which small teams each with students  of different  levels  of ability  use  a  variety of  learning  activities  to  improve  their understanding of a text. It requires a small number of students to work together on a common task, supporting and encouraging one another to improve their learning through interdependence and  cooperation with one another (Larry and  Hartman, 2002). Each member of a  team is responsible not only for learning what  is taught but also  for helping team-mates learn and

creating an atmosphere of achievement (Johnson and  Johnson, 2006). Cooperative learning groups usually comprises two to five students in a group that allows everyone to participate in a clearly designed task (Sarah, 2006).  Parkay and Standford (2007) define cooperative learning as an approach to teaching in which students work in small groups, or teams, sharing the work and helping one another complete assignments. Cooperative learning strategy facilitates interaction among all learners in the classroom, leading them to evaluate each other as contributors to their common task (Siciliano, 2008). It captures student’s attention in class activity   and gives them the  zeal  to  work  tirelessly  in  a  reading  comprehension  class  (Law,  2011,  Liao  and  suh,

2009).Gillies and Ashman (2003) observed that when groups are established where positive goal interdependence does not exist, groups are not truly cooperative because interdependence is believed to be the heart of cooperative learning. Cooperative learning strategy when integrated with reading comprehension enable readers to work together to achieve goals which they could not achieve individually in reading comprehension. It will help them to explain strategies to one another in their own words, as well as helping them to further process the complex cognitive activity and to decide whether a particular strategy is appropriately utilized in order to take strategic actions if any comprehension breakdown occurs.

Evidence emanating from western countries tends to suggest that cooperative learning strategy has the potential for helping to initiate, sustain the achievement motivation of low achieving students and consequently improve student’s achievement in reading comprehension (Seid Mohammed, 2012). Most studies on cooperative learning have consistently indicated that this methodology promotes higher achievement, more positive interpersonal relationships, and higher self-esteem than do competitive or individualistic efforts (Gomleksiz, 2007). Al Haidari (2006) point out that cooperative learning as a method of teaching turns out to be a valuable tool

to help students learn comprehension strategies while encouraging positive interactions among peers. The students achieve academic success by increasing their reading levels and knowledge of comprehension skills, and there is also an increase in enthusiasm and motivation towards reading.  Al Haidari further explains that cooperative learning aims to ease the burden on the part of low achieving students by grouping them to read and solve their reading problems without undue leaning on their teacher. Cooperative learning helps learners participate in reading lessons effectively, create an abundant and healthy learning environment, make reading comprehension learning more meaningful, and increase acquisition (Bolukbas, Keskin, Polat, 2011).Teachers can use this approach to stimulate low achieving students to acquire the knowledge as well as create interpersonal and team skills. Traditionally, classes always consist of good students and weak students. The weak students sit in isolation as they lose confidence in their ability to learn. Cooperative learning is believed to help solve this problem. Shy students who don’t like to speak in a large class are more comfortable speaking out in smaller groups. Group members can complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses in learning. Each student has a different background and ability to contribute to their group (Wichadee,2004).

In this study, cooperative learning strategy refers to an instructional strategy in which students work actively and purposefully together in small groups to enhance their own and their team-mates learning. Have the students (participants) break into group of five, the leader who will moderate the discussion and keep it on topic, the time keeper, an encourager who will ensure that everyone participate effectively, a reporter who will report the findings to the whole class and an explainer who will ensure that all members understand the group solution to the task to be done. As a result, cooperative learning strategy will enable students to acquire a whole range of skills while they cooperatively interacts   everyday with their team-mates and classmates to

master academic content. Cooperative efforts results in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members gain from each other’s effort. There is a positive inter-dependence among student’s goal attainments. Students perceive that they can reach their learning goal if and only if the other students in the learning group also reach their goals.

The interactive model through the Learning Together Model of cooperative learning by Johnson & Johnson (1999) will be used to facilitate student reading comprehension. For the purpose of this study, the learning together model was selected as a form of intervention as it encompasses  all  the   necessary  cooperative  learning  elements:  positive  interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, social or collaborative skills and group processing. It is an interactive model used to facilitate students learning and organizes instruction according to the principles of heterogeneous grouping. Cooperative learning strategies to be applied in this study by the researcher is the three cooperative learning skills by Kagan (2009) for low achieving students such as:

Think-pair-share: It is to have two or three students form a pair and share group. Students share questions and ideas from the text with their partners, and discuss them in detail. Ideas and thoughts are then later shared with the larger group in the whole class discussion.

Number Heads Together: It involves dividing the class in small heterogeneous group with which students  number  themselves  (1  to  4)  including  low  achieving  students  to  discuss  possible answers prior to responding because group members cannot predict who will be called upon to respond to the question.

Round Table: It may be used to brainstorm ideas and generate a large number of responses to a single question (Kagan, 2009).

Cooperative learning strategy can be successful when these elements are fully incorporated into  group work and when low achieving students are actively encouraged to support each other’s learning; the  activities  become cooperative learning structures (Steven

&Slavin, 1995). Students need guided practice with a gradual release of responsibility so that they can eventually make the strategies their own (Duke & Pearson, 2008). Teachers also need to collaboratively model the strategies in action with their male and female students.

The influence of gender on low achieving student’s achievement motivation in reading comprehension is another area of interest to the researcher that needs to be addressed. Gender is variable that plays an important role in learning. It refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female. It is a varied socially and culturally constructed roles, qualities and behavioursthat are ascribed to men and women of different societies (Weiss, 2001). Gender difference have become on the hotlist of critical issues around the world. Hausmann, Tyson &Zahidi (2009) reported that there is no country that has yet reached equality between male  and  female  in  different  critical areas  in  education or  economic participation. Gender stereotyping is  still prevalent in almost  all aspect of life  (AI  bedour, 2004). The common traditional belief about women performance is that women seems to work less hard than men, and that female students achieve lower scores in school and that girls who fail at school usually get married at early ages. As for studies conducted around the world about gender differences the results of these studies are contradicted.

While the majority of the studies found out that female out-performed male, others found the opposite, on the other hand other researchers found no differences at all between male and female concerning their academic achievement and success. Nwobia (2007) examines that in reading ability, female tend to read better and more fluent than males, this could be socio-

culturally conditional as there is no proof that males are less intelligent than females . Wilhelm (2002) indicates that in reading achievement boys read less and tend to do better at information retrieval in and attitudes to comprehension than girls but girls tend to comprehend narrative texts and most expository texts more significantly than boys do. By implication, there is variation in the type of texts and activities that boys and girls prefer to engage in as readers and this would likely influence their achievement. Research findings have been inconclusive as to whether males  (boys)  achieve  higher  than  girls  (females)  in  reading  comprehension.  However, cooperative learning is urgently   needed to boost achievement   motivation of low achieving students so that they will function creditably well in reading comprehension as well as develop and maintain desirable cooperation and encouragement for students need to work together in small groups to support each other’s effort to learn.

Statement of the Problem

Reading comprehension has been indicated to be very important in the life of every learner in school. Reading for comprehension in the secondary school classroom has become a concern among educators around the world because it  is a well-known fact that success in reading is essential to success in school and self- sustenance especially in this age of global information dissemination. Yet the prevailing problem in Nigerian secondary school certificate examination especially Nsukka Education Zone is that the number of low achieving students is increasing speedily. This is evident in student’s external examination reports. The large number of low achieving students has been attributed to some factors. It could be as a result of the behavior pattern which learners develop through consistent failure in their internal and external examinations. It is possible that students’ inability to read, understand and answer question

correctly usually make them provide wrong answers. Apart from the relative lack of interest and poor reading habits among students, there is adequate evidence to prove that students simply do not comprehend what they read in and outside the classroom as a result of lack of achievement motivation. The reading challenges at this level are enormous, as reading cannot be attained without comprehension. Lack of appropriate instructional method that can facilitate students – student’s interaction in the teaching and learning of reading comprehension in the secondary school is another factor. It is also suggested that all this could be the reason why some students are low achievers. This situation has been a source of worry to parents, teachers, curriculum experts, state and federal government.

Studies from western countries tend to suggest that cooperative learning strategy has the potential for helping to initiate, sustain achievement motivation of low achieving students and consequently improve student’s achievement in reading comprehension. The extent to which cooperative learning strategy can improve the reading comprehension achievement of Nigerian students especially in Nsukka Education Zone who operate in different socio- cultural environments is yet to be determined. The problem of this study put in a question form is: what is  the  effect  of cooperative  learning strategy on achievement  motivation of  low  achieving students in reading comprehension.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study wis to determine the effect of cooperative learning strategy on achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension in Nsukka Education Zone.

Specifically, the study will determine:

1)  The effect of cooperative learning strategy on the posttest means achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension.

2)  The influence of gender on achievement motivation of low achieving student in reading comprehension.

3)  The  interaction  effect  of  cooperative  learning  strategy  and  gender  on  achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension.

Significance of the Study

The finding of this study will be of both theoretical and practical benefit. Theoretically, the  finding of this  study will  necessitate the use of cognitive developmental theory in the explanation that children actively construct their knowledge through cooperative learning. The benefits of cooperation will facilitate transition from learner’s zone of proximal development to new levels of skills and competence. Zone of proximal development ((ZPD) is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone, but can be learnt with the guidance and assistance from more skillful peers working independently. This implies thatits cooperation promotes interaction as group members encourage and facilitate each other’s efforts to learn. This will encourage students to learn through shared problem solving experiences with their peers. Students will learn from one another because in their interaction of the context, cognitive conflicts will arise, inadequate reasoning will be exposed, and higher quality understanding will emerge. Therefore, it  makes the  learning environment  more natural and interactive.

Practically, this study will be of benefit to students, teachers, parents, school administrators, curriculum experts, state and federal governments.

To  students, cooperative  learning strategy could  helpto  develop the  reading abilities  of students and to get different knowledge by sharing what one know to those who do not know in groups. It could help students to speak freely in the class without fear of being ridiculed. It could enable students to evaluate, explain, and understand some reading strategies and get some kind of ideas about the kind of questions that can be asked in exams.

The finding of this study will be significant to teachers, as they acquire the knowledge and skills of these cooperative learning strategies, they will make their classroom activities more learner-centered as against  teacher–dominated activities  popularly used  in  reading comprehension lessons. They could apply them to teach students who represent wide range of abilities in reading comprehension for easier concept understanding and retention as well as encouraging them to learn from one another rather than receiving instruction from the teacher alone.

To parents, through dissemination of workshop, seminars, conferences and parents teachers’ association PTA meetings parents will also find it beneficial. It will give them the knowledge of cooperative learning strategyand the power the influence has on their children achievement motivation in the teaching and learning activities.

To school administrators, the findings of this study will expose them to different types of strategies they could use to boost the achievement motivation of teachers and students which will help  in educational system. It  will also  help school administrators to  motivate teachers by assigning responsibilities to them according to their competencies.

To the curriculum experts, the finding of this study when published will help curriculum developers to design a curriculum that will effect positive changes in learning experiences of learners in reading comprehension. And incorporate the use of cooperative learning strategy in

the curriculum to encourage low achieving students to become active learners in the classroom activities.

Federal and state government (Ministry of Education and its Parastatals) will benefit from the findings of this study as it will expose them to the effect of cooperative learning strategy which studying it have on low achieving students in learning. Government could be motivated to organize conferences, seminars and workshops for teachers where they can learn innovative techniques and methods for teaching reading comprehension.

Scope of the Study

The study is on the effect of cooperative learning strategy on achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension. In specific terms, the study will be limited to

2013/2014senior secondary two (SSII) students in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.  The content scope of the study is on reading comprehension test. Four comprehension passages from the scheme of work for the term drawn from SSII English curriculum (Federal Ministry of Education, 2008) was used for the training.The students were train in the use of cooperative learning strategy because it will boost and encourage achievement motivation of low achieving students in reading comprehension.

Research Question

The following research questions will guide this study:

1) What is the effect of cooperative learning strategy on the posttest mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension?

2)  What is the influence of gender on mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension?

3) What is the interactionp1pp effect of cooperative learning strategy and gender on the posttest mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05level of significance.

HO1:Cooperative leaning strategy has no significant effect on the posttest mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension.

HO2: The influence of gender on mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension is not significant.

HO3: The interaction effect of cooperative learning strategy and gender on mean achievement motivation scores of low achieving students in reading comprehension is not significant.

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