The causes of poor performance in mathematics among students in public junior high school in Atiwa West District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to students’ poor performance in Mathematics in selected public Junior High Schools in Atiwa West District. Purposive and simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents from the population for the study. The sample for the study consisted of all form three Junior High School students preparing for the final examination that comprised of 338. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. The study adopted the quantitative approach. Questionnaire in the form of five points Likert Scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) was used to collect data. The Statistical analyses used were mean, standard deviation and percentages. The findings revealed that students strongly agreed that they show no interest in Mathematics class was due to student related factors, the exhibition of poor instructional skills by mathematics teachers were the major factors that affect their performance in Mathematics. Based on these findings it was recommended that Ministry of Education either directly or through its agencies should enhance primary school pupils Mathematics background through inclusion of more introductory Mathematics concepts in the primary Mathematics syllabus and also motivate teachers. Again, there is need to develop a love for mathematics through the setting up of “Mathematics Club” in every Junior High School