Abstract
Mathematics interest, achievement, and retention remain persistent challenges in secondary school education, particularly in developing contexts where instructional practices often rely on teacher-centred approaches. This study investigated the effectiveness of the Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) strategy, a cooperative learning approach, in enhancing students’ interest and retention in mathematics. This study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest–follow-up design. The sample comprised 93 Senior Secondary Two (SS II) students from two public schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Participants were divided into an experimental group taught using STAD and a control group taught with conventional methods. Data were collected using the Mathematics Performance Test (MPT) and the Student Mathematics Interest Scale (SMIS) (KR-21 = 0.83; α = 0.87) and analysed using ANCOVA, repeated-measures ANOVA, and t-tests at the 0.05 level. Findings revealed a significant main effect of instructional strategy on mathematics interest, with students exposed to STAD demonstrating significantly higher interest scores than those taught using the conventional method (F=92.846; p<0.05; η² =.513). No significant gender differences were found in mathematics interest (F=.237; p=.628; η² =.003). Similarly, findings revealed a significant main effect of instructional strategy on mathematics retention, with students exposed to STAD demonstrating higher retention scores than those taught using the conventional method (F = 403.496, p < .05, η² = .816). No significant gender differences were found in mathematics retention (t = 0.389, p = .699). STAD effectively enhances mathematics interest and long-term retention regardless of gender, supporting its integration into secondary school mathematics instruction
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APA 7th edition
In-text citation: (Falebita et al., 2026)
Reference: Falebita, O. S., Popoola, A. A., Talasi, T., & Akinwamide, C. O. (2026). Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools.
European Journal of STEM Education, 11(1), Article 23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459
AMA 10th edition
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Falebita OS, Popoola AA, Talasi T, Akinwamide CO. Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools.
European Journal of STEM Education. 2026;11(1), 23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459
Chicago
In-text citation: (Falebita et al., 2026)
Reference: Falebita, Oluwanife Segun, Abiodun Agnes Popoola, Tatalo Talasi, and Comfort Oluwasesan Akinwamide. "Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools".
European Journal of STEM Education 2026 11 no. 1 (2026): 23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459
Harvard
In-text citation: (Falebita et al., 2026)
Reference: Falebita, O. S., Popoola, A. A., Talasi, T., and Akinwamide, C. O. (2026). Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools.
European Journal of STEM Education, 11(1), 23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459
MLA
In-text citation: (Falebita et al., 2026)
Reference: Falebita, Oluwanife Segun et al. "Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools".
European Journal of STEM Education, vol. 11, no. 1, 2026, 23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Falebita OS, Popoola AA, Talasi T, Akinwamide CO. Enhancing mathematics interest and retention through student teams achievement division (STAD): A quasi-experimental study in Nigerian secondary schools. European Journal of STEM Education. 2026;11(1):23.
https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/18459