Abstract:
Performance in mathematics by students has persistently been poor. This study sought
to investigate the impact of quality of teaching mathematics and opportunity to learn
standards provided for Junior High School pupils on their performance in Basic
Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The study also sought to establish the
strategies that could be adopted to improve performance in the subject by students in
Kadjebi District of the Volta Region. The population for the study was two-hundred
respondents which comprised of third year students from ten(10) randomly selected
Junior High Schools, 10 Mathematics teachers and twenty (20) parents or guardians.
The data for the research was collected by the use of questionnaires, test items,
interviews and observation guides. The design used in the study was mixed method
research design which emphasized qualitative and quantitative methods. Simple
random sampling was used to select the sample for the study. Descriptive statistics
such as mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. It was found that
the major factors that contributes to poor performance are, inadequacy of teaching and
learning materials, lack of textbooks and resources such as computers, projectors,
chalk, and others, parents or guardians socio-economic status, methods employed by
mathematics teachers and inadequate opportunity to learn standards provided to
pupils. It was recommended that mathematics teaching and learning should be based
on student-centred and discussion approaches coupled with problem solving
techniques.
Description:
A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION,
FACULTY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF
GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD
OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (MATHEMATICS EDUCATION)
DEGREE.