Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education ISSN (2210-1578) J. Tea. Tea. Edu. 9, No. 2 (July-2021) E-mail address: muraina_kamilu@yahoo.com , ysuleiman@alhikmah.edu.ng, habibatbola64@gmail.com http://journals.uob.edu.bh Effects of Indigenous Game Strategies on Academic Performance of Pupils in Numeracy in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria Muraina Kamilu Olanrewaju 1 , Yusuf Suleiman 2 , and Habibat Bolanle Abdulkareem 3 1 Department of Educational Management and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin 2 Department of Educational Management and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin 3 Department of Educational Management and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin Received 23 March 2021, Revised 12 May 2021, Accepted 10 June 2021, Published 01 July 2021 Abstract: This study investigated effects of indigenous game strategies on academic performance of pupils in numeracy in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State. A pretest-posttest control group non-equivalent quasi-experimental design was used in the study. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted to select six schools for the study. The only instrument used was the Numeracy Performance Test (NPT) with reliability coefficient of 0.76. ANCOVA was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that there was a significant effect of indigenous game strategies on pupils’ academic performance in numeracy (F (2, 25) = 159.022, P < 0.05); there was no significant effect of gender on pupils’ performance in numeracy; there was no significant interaction eff ect of treatment and gender on pupils’ performance in Numeracy (F(2,25)= 0.578, p>0.05, η 2 = 0.102, p<0.05); there was no significant effect of school type on pupils’ performance in Numeracy in Kwara State (F(2,25)= 0.826, p>0.05, η 2 = 0.104). There was no significant interaction effect of treatment and school type on pupils’ performance in Numeracy in Kwara State (F(2,25)= 0.323, p>0.05, η 2 = 0.126). It was concluded that indigenous game strategies enhanced better performance in numeracy than the conventional method of teaching, also gender and school type had no significant effect on academic performance of pupils in numeracy. Based on these findings, it was recommended among other things that numeracy teachers should be encouraged to use indigenous games strategies, rather than the use of conventional methods, to teach pupils at the primary schools. particularly in basic two. Keywords: Indigenous Game Strategies, Gender, School Type, Academic Performance and Numeracy skill INTRODUCTION Numeracy is necessary for everyday living, from daily activities like telling the time, cooking, and setting the table to more difficult tasks such as understanding mobile phone plans, planning a trip, reading a map, and understanding timetables. However, as children move through life stages, numeracy demands become more complex. Numeracy is a way of reasoning, and children do it quite naturally everywhere. The skills acquired in numeracy enable children to effectively communicate and transact in society (Badru, 2020; Nnamdi, 2014; Olufunke & Elizabeth, 2020). The foundation for children’s numeracy skills is established in the early years. For instance, Stephens (2014) posits that for pupils to become numerate, they must be given opportunities to practice and apply the mathematics they have learnt at their tender age in the mathematics classroom and also in all areas of the curriculum. Saad, Adamu and Sadiq (2014) also claim that the quality and quantity of early numeracy skills are the key factors in determining subsequent achievement. Numeracy is the ability to communicate and apply simple numerical concepts. The basic numeracy skills comprise comprehending or understanding fundamental arithmetic like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For instance, if a child can understand simple arithmetic equations such as 2 x 2 = 4 and 2 + 2 = 4, then it is likely to prepare such a child for the basic numeric concept. Numeracy is the ability to use mathematics to solve problems and meet the demands of day to day living or http://dx.doi.org/10.12785/itte/090204