Abstract
When students' academic achievement in one of the core subjects, like economics, in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination is only slightly above average, educational stakeholders usually raise concerns and call for an investigation of variables that could improve students’ achievement. This study investigated the effects of the cooperative learning method on students’ academic achievement in economics in Lagos State. The pre-test, post-test, and control group quasi-experimental design with a 2x2 factorial matrix was used. We purposively sampled two Local Government Areas from Lagos Education District II, and a simple random sampling technique was used to select four public schools. Students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups using intact classes consisting of 142 Senior Secondary I students, 86 from urban schools, and 56 from rural schools. The Student's Economics Achievement Test (r=0.77) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant main effect of treatment on students’ achievement in economics. (F (1,137) = 132.617, partial η2=0.75). Students in the cooperative group had a mean score (???̅ =29.74), while students in the control group had a mean score (???̅= 17.29). There was no significant main effect of school location on students’ academic achievement, and the two-way interaction effect of treatment and school location was not significant. Cooperative and problem-based learning enhanced Senior Secondary School students’ academic achievement in economics. Thus, teachers should employ these teaching methods to improve students’ achievement in economics