The Effect of Teaching “Learning Strategies” on Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis Study

Purpose: This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis of results from the experimental studies that examined the effect of learning strategies on students’ academic achievement in Turkey between 2000 and 2016. Method: This study employed a meta-analysis method to combine the results of experimental studies on the effect of teaching learning strategies on students’ academic achievement. Twenty-eight studies comprising of theses and peer-reviewed articles involving an experimental analysis of the effect of learning strategies on students’ achievement were included in this study. Results: The random effects model was used in the study and the mean effect size value was found at large effect level (d = 1.21). The eta-squared calculated for Cohen’s d of 1.21 was found to be .268. This value obtained using 31 effect sizes from the results of 28 experimental studies conducted with 1,641 students indicated that the learning strategies had 26.8% positive effect on students’ academic achievement. Implications for Research and Practice: Sub-group analyses were also made in the sub-categories (education level, discipline, strategy teaching style, and strategy type) within the scope of the research, and it was determined that the teaching of learning strategies differed only statistically according to the discipline area. Several suggestions based on the research results were presented