Effectiveness of Buddy System and Explicit Instruction in Improving Grade 9 Students’ Mathematics Achievement

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Buddy System combined with explicit instruction in enhancing the mathematics performance of Grade 9 learners at a public school in Cagayan de Oro City. The study involved 60 students, divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 30) that received instruction through the Buddy System integrated with explicit teaching strategies, and a control group (n = 30) that received conventional, teacher-centered explicit instruction. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was employed. The intervention was implemented during the fourth quarter of School Year 2024–2025. A standardized mathematics assessment developed by DepEd Cagayan de Oro City was administered before and after the intervention. Results showed that both groups demonstrated significant improvement in their posttest scores. However, the experimental group achieved higher mean gains compared to the control group. Further analysis using ANCOVA revealed a statistically significant difference in posttest performance between the two groups after controlling for pretest scores, with a moderate effect size. These findings indicate that integrating peer-assisted learning with explicit instruction enhances learners’ mathematics achievement, engagement, and understanding of mathematical concepts.