BJAR British Journal of Advanced Research BJAR 3153-709X Ivory and Finch Publishers 10.68263/BJAR-VXTTJGVY BJAR_AUG_26_031 Original Research Article Effects of Cooperative and Competitive Learning on Reading Comprehension Performance Among Nigerian Schoolchildren Peace Chiamaka Ettu, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria trustallison@gmail.com Prince Edisemi Ali, Department of Psychology, Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State; and Department of General Studies, Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri, Bayelsa State, Nigeria Gloria Nyakno-Ekpa, Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria Trust-Jah Tuaegwuchukwu Allison, https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0580-9042 Department of Psychology, Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria; and Multidisciplinary Research Unit, West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, Abuja, Nigeria 10 09 2026 1 3

This study examined the effects of cooperative and competitive learning methods on children’s reading comprehension performance. Thirty children (15 boys, 15 girls) aged 10–14 years were drawn from a secondary school in Ibadan, Nigeria, using systematic sampling and were randomly assigned to a cooperative learning group or a competitive learning group. Comprehension performance was measured as the number of correct responses to six objective questions following a standardized reading passage. An independent-samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference in comprehension scores between the cooperative learning group (M = 4.00, SD = 1.13) and the competitive learning group (M = 3.13, SD = 1.51), t(28) = 1.78, p = .086, although the effect size was moderate to large (d = 0.65) and favoured the cooperative condition. Findings suggest that children in this age range are capable of productive cooperative learning, and that the absence of statistical significance likely reflects the study’s limited statistical power rather than a true absence of an effect. Educators are encouraged to incorporate structured cooperative learning activities to support children’s academic and prosocial development.

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