Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of embedding cooperative learning (CL) into the Primary and Secondary Education Course (PSEC) on the academic achievement of undergraduate university students. The study also sought to gauge the perceptions of these students application of CL. Design/methodology/approach: This was a mixed methods sequential explanatory design involving 136 undergraduate university students who participated in a 16 week semester intervention involving the implementation of CL into their PSEC. Achievement data were collected from all students pre- and post-intervention to determine if there were significant differences between the experimental and control conditions. Forty-four participants from the experimental condition were also interviewed post-intervention on their experiences of CL. Findings: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the academic achievement of students in the experimental and control groups in favor of students in the experimental group (p < 0.001). The perceptions of participants in the experimental condition indicated that CL not only created an empathetic, safe and pleasant learning environment and strengthened students' individual and communicative skills, but it also helped to develop an understanding of quality learning. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study have the potential to influence university instructors by demonstrating how CL provides opportunities to not only improve student learning but also their attitude to learning. Originality/value: This study, while demonstrating the positive effect of CL on students' academic achievement also revealed the potential this approach to teaching and learning has for embedding it in other university courses.