Influence of Students’ Attitudes to the Learning of Mathematics on Their Academic Achievements in Senior Secondary Schools in Jalingo Metropolis
Chapter One
Objective of the study
The main objective of the study is to examine the influence of students’ attitudes to the learning of mathematics on their academic achievements in senior secondary schools in jalingo metropolis. Specifically, the study aims:
- examine if the students’ attitude towards the study of mathematics affects their academic performance in examination
- investigate how teacher’s qualification and teaching methods students’ academic performance in mathematics examination in secondary schools
- evaluate if the sex of the student a determinant in his or her attitude towards studying of mathematics
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The related literature has been reviewed under the following sub-headings.
Conceptual framework
Theoretical framework
Review of empirical studies
Conceptual Review
Concept of Attitude
Attitude can be defined as a favourable or unfavourable evaluative reaction towards something or someone exhibited in ones beliefs, feelings, or intended behaviour. It is a social orientation an underlying inclination to respond to something either favourably or unfavourably. Attitude could also be defined as a consistent tendency to react in a particular way often positively or negatively- toward any matter. Attitude possesses both cognitive and emotional component. Fazio and Olson (2004) say attitude are important to educational psychology because they influence social thought, the way an individual thinks about and how he\she processes social information.
Psychologists define ‘attitude’ as any strong believe or feeling or any approval or disapproval toward people and situations (Boyd, Landford, Loeb & Wyckoff. 2008). There are favourable and unfavourable attitudes toward people, politic, academic subjects and so on. People favour the things they think are good and helpful and oppose the things they think are bad and harmful (Boyd, Landford, Loeb & Wyckoff. 2008), in this context, students’ attitude towards academic is a crucial factor in learning and achievement.
Research suggests that there are three different components of attitude. These are the cognitive, the affective, and the behavioural components of attitude (Maio & Haddock, 2010).
Cognitive component: the cognitive component of attitude refers to the beliefs, thoughts, and attributes that is associated with an object. Many times a person attitude might be based on negative or positive attributes they associate with an object. An example is that a person might think that mathematics is difficult. Affective component: the affective component of attitude refers to your feeling or emotion linked to an attitude object. Affective responses influence attitudes in a number of ways. For example many people are afraid\scared of mathematics. So this negative affective response is likely to cause them to have a negative attitude toward mathematics. Behavioural component; the behavioural component of attitudes refer to way one behaves when expose to an attitude object, the idea that people infer attitudes from previous actions. An example is a person choosing to run away from mathematics class upon seeing a mathematics teacher. Hence the cognitive, affective and behavioural components are interacted and interconnected. Since cognitive, affective and behavioural components are interacted and interconnected they are applicable to my study.
According to Goldstein (1994), attitudes have the following characteristics.
- Attitudes are evaluative: they involve positive or negative responses such as liking and disliking.
- Attitudes are learned: attitudes are acquired and not taught and they are targeted towards an object, idea or person. An attitude cannot be a general feeling.
- It serves important functions as it help to process information about the world and its interpretation.
- They are ending: unlike moods and emotions which can change rapidly, attitude tends to be relatively stable over time.
- Consistency of an attitude: the consistency of an attitude relates to the strength of an individual feeling towards a particular object in different settings and situations.
Sperling (1982) suggested four functions of attitude for an individual. The functions are;
- The adjustive function: This shows that students tend to adopt positive attitudes towards things which reward and negative attitudes towards the things that punish. Students hate mathematics because it punishes, thus adjust attitudes negatively towards it.
- The ego-defensive function: This refers to how students attitudes tend to defend their self-image. This means that if a student has negatives self-image, the student transfers that image to mathematics. For example, student may have a negative self-image of not being able to do very difficult things. If that student has perceived mathematics as difficult subject, obviously such student develops negative attitudes immediately.
- The value-expensive function: Some students may give positive expressions to the central values held by a student and to the concept which the student has. For example, suppose this student is seen as having liberal outlook (example of a central value or concept) and considers mathematics as a subject with liberal outlook or that requires the qualities of a person with a liberal outlook, then the student would express negative attitude to mathematics.
- The knowledge function: The student has need to give adequate structure to universe. This need can be served by the attitude which the student holds. If the student has a negative structure to the universe with regard to calculations, such student develops negative attitude to mathematics. Knowledge of mathematics which is thoroughly acquired by a student may not, after all, be practiced because of the intervention of negative attitude between knowledge and practice. This indicates that when a student develops a negative attitude towards mathematics, such student will never do well in it no matter how such student may practice it due to the intervention of negative attitude towards the subject. This attitude works hand-in-hand with the students “will-power that is the will to succeed”.
In the general terms it can be said that an attitude is formed by the excitation of a need in the individual. This need may arise within the individual or be triggered by a relevant cue in the environment. To induce attitude change the expression of an old attitude or its anticipated expression must be seen to give satisfaction no longer (Katz, 1960). One way of changing people is to change their attitudes and opinions. Attitudinal change or opinion change is a type of change in which the change agent exercises social influence. Attitude can also be form due to the following factors. Experience; Attitude can be form directly as a result of experience. They may emerge due to direct personal experience, or may result from observation. Social roles and social norms can also have a strong influence on attitude. Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a particular context while social norms involve society’s rules for what behaviours are considered appropriate. Attitude can also be form through learning
Attitude towards Mathematics has cognitive, affective and behavioural components; and like any other kind of attitude, it can be formed through any of the three processes described earlier. Student can develop positive attitude towards mathematics because they can learns to associate positive experiences or events with it. Also, positive reinforcement creates room for the formation of positive attitude towards mathematics. Hence the need to study students’ attitude as correlates of their achievement in mathematics.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried out to examine the influence of students’ attitudes to the learning of mathematics on their academic achievements in senior secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis. Selected senior secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which 100 were returned. The analysis of this study is based on the number returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the influence of students’ attitudes to the learning of mathematics on their academic achievements in senior secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis, Jalingo metropolis as case study. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was on the influence of students’ attitudes to the learning of mathematics on their academic achievements in senior secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis, Jalingo metropolis as case study. The study is was specifically focused on examining if the students’ attitude towards the study of mathematics affects their academic performance in examination; investigating how teacher’s qualification and teaching methods students’ academic performance in mathematics examination in secondary schools and evaluating if the sex of the student a determinant in his or her attitude towards studying of mathematics.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 100 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are students and staff of selected senior secondary schools in Jalingo metropolis.
Conclusions
With respect to the analysis and the findings of this study, the following conclusions emerged;
a.) There is statistical relationship between students’ attitude towards the study of mathematics and academic performance;
b.) Majority of mathematics teachers in secondary schools in the study area are not properly trained;
c.) That there is significant relationship between teacher’s qualification and teaching methods and students’ academic performance in mathematics;
d.) The attitude exhibited by secondary school students towards the study of mathematics is not a function of gender (male or female); and
e.) In terms of academic performance in mathematics, male students do not differ from their male counterparts.
Recommendation
In view of the findings of the study, the following recommendations are proffered:
- Parents, teachers, religious leaders, industry captains and influential community members should strive to encourage primary and secondary school students to develop positive towards mathematics;
- School authorities, Parents’ Teachers Association, State Primary and State Secondary Education Boards and other educational stakeholders should help and encourage students to develop positive attitude and keen interest for mathematics, with an understanding that the subject is a major driver of science and technology in the World;
- No teacher should be assigned to teach a subject where he or she is not a subject-matter specialist or professional in that subject, especially mathematics, which need dedicated, passionate and professionally –trained personnel to simplify the abstract-related areas for the students’ understanding and appreciation of the subject;
- Government should make special fund available for the training of mathematics teachers from the foundational stage of education to tertiary levels to encourage, produce and develop mathematics teachers in line with the population realities and educational demands of modern day Nigeria;
- Teachers should develop the attitude and willingness to make improvised teaching aids where none is available
References
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- Adeluku, S.A (2012). The influence of instructional materials on academic performance of senior secondary school students in mathematics in Cross River State. Global Journal of Educational Research: 2(1).
- Akinlua, A (2007) Driving Curriculum Content and Practice in Higher Education in Nigeria towards Relevance. Reforming Higher Education in Africa. (Retrieved September 13, 2011)
- Alderman, M. K. (2004) Motivation for Achievement. Possibilities for Teaching and Learning, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, NJ, USA.
- Aunola, K. Leskinen, E. and Nurmi, J. E. (2006) “Developmental dynamics between mathematical performance, task motivation, and teachers’ goals during the transition to primary school,” British Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 21– 40, 2006.
