Article Details

This study investigated the effect of pictorial clues on Upper Basic students’ achievements in reading comprehension in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental, non-randomised, pre-test-post-test control-group design involving two groups of participants. The population of this study comprised all public Upper Basic schools in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.  There are 24 Public Upper Basic Schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, with a total number of 24,364 students (FCTA Education Secretariat, 2024). The target population for the study consisted of all Upper Basic II students in public schools. The study sample comprised 200 students drawn from four intact classes across two public Upper Basic schools. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select two public schools out of the 24 Upper Basic schools in the area council. One intact class served as the experimental group while the other was the control group. The instrument used for data collection was a test titled “Reading Comprehension Achievement Test” (RCAT), developed by the researcher. The instrument (RCAT) was validated through expert judgment by three experts to establish both face and content validity. The instrument's reliability was established through a pilot test with 15 participants who were not part of the study. A test-retest reliability was assessed over a three-week interval, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.73. The data collected were analyzed by answering the research questions with mean and standard deviation, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0,05 level of significance. Some of the major findings are: The use of pictorial clues was found to be quite effective in enhancing reading comprehension achievement of upper basic students. There was no statistically significant gender difference in the mean comprehension achievement scores of Upper Basic students taught reading comprehension using pictorial clues in Gwagwalada Area Council. Some of the recommendations include the need for English teachers to integrate pictorial clues into reading lessons. Teachers should be trained through workshops, seminars, and continuous professional development programs on how to effectively design and use pictorial instructional materials.