An investigation into factors influencing the attitude of senior high school students towards the study of mathematics in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (k. E. E. A.) Municipality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the attitude of students towards the study of mathematics in the public senior high schools in Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (K.EEA) Municipality. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Data were collected using Mathematics Teachers Questionnaires (MTQ) for teachers and Mathematics Students Questionnaires (MSQ) for students. These were administered on a sample of 13 teachers and 340 students respectively selected from three public senior high schools in KEEA municipality. The MSQ was given to senior high school students to identify their attitude towards mathematics. The results indicated that the senior high school students exhibited positive attitude towards mathematics According to the findings, the issues associated with attitudes toward mathematics study among senior high school students was a lack of confidence and interest in the ability to learn and perform well in mathematics. The study also found that the teachers’ method of teaching, the number of lessons taught by the teacher, years of experience in teaching mathematics, method used by teachers to motivate the students, the teachers own attitude toward the subject, the parents and siblings of the students and the friends or peers of the students appeared as main factors that influence or reinforce student attitude towards the study of mathematics. It was therefore recommended that since students in senior high school had a positive attitude towards mathematics, mathematics educators should make use of this positive attitude to encourage students to appreciate the process of learning mathematics. It was also recommended that teachers must be aware of students' attitudes towards mathematics because they influence how the subject is taught and learned. This would make it possible for educators to create effective methodologies and plans to improve mathematics teaching and learning