ASSESSING SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO LEARN MATHEMATICS AS RELATED TO GENDER AND PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS
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ASSESSING
SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO LEARN MATHEMATICS AS RELATED TO
GENDER AND PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS
ABSTRACT
This study
encompassed an assessment of senior secondary school students’ motivation to
learn mathematics as related to gender and performance in mathematics. A total sample comprising of three hundred
and fifteen senior secondary school students was drawn from two accredited
senior secondary schools in the Education District 4 of Lagos State covering
Apapa, Mainland and Surulere local government areas i.e. Zones 1, 2 and 3
respectively. Data analytical techniques
used in this study include, percentages, means, standard deviation, independent
samples t-test, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) and
standard and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Findings from the study revealed that there
was a very high level of motivation to learn mathematics among senior secondary
schools’ students in Nigeria. It was
also revealed that Self-efficacy, gender and intrinsic motivationwere the major
significant predictors of performance in mathematics among the sample of
students investigated. The recommendation for further future study on the level
of motivation to learn mathematics among senior secondary schools’ students and
the correlation existing between gender and the various dimensions of
motivation on the one hand and performance in mathematics on the other among
this group of individuals emphasized that the instruments to be used may have
to be further simplified and moderated to suit our peculiar environment.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Every nation
of the world is desirous of achieving high level of technological development
in order to achieve the collective prosperity and wellbeing of their
citizenry. This underpins the necessity
for the development of mathematical knowledge which is the basis for
technological advancement.
Mathematics is a game of numbers. It is the science of numbers applied in
proffering solution to problems. Awofala
(2014) asserts that mathematics involves ‘magnitudes and numbers, quantity and
space’ together with logical reasoning and judgment. Mukhtar (2008) in Gimba and Agwagah (2012)
defines mathematics as
the science
of structure, order, number, space, and quantity whose relationship revolves
around the elementary practice of counting, measuring and describing the shapes
of objects.
As a field
of study and a discipline, mathematics involves the use of figures, symbols and
statements in carrying out analytical procedures in problem situations in
arriving at definite logical conclusions and by extension solutions to
problems. Mathematics is a language through
which scientists expressed their ideas, laws and principles (Gimba &
Agwagah, 2012).
Mathematical
processes pervade the entire spectrum of human existence from the point of
conception to the point of death and burial.
The importance of mathematics in our everyday life – as related to
personal/family budget and spending, schooling and education, and the various
professional/occupational engagements – cannot be overemphasized. Awofala (2014) itemized the universal
applicability of mathematics in our everyday life i.e. at home, when
travelling, at the store, at school, at work, and at pastimes.
It is as old
as man, as can be seen in the various works of art, instruments, weapons,
houses, palaces, ships etc of the pre-history and the medieval periods. A case in point is the construction of
pyramids in the early civilization of Egypt which was a great
mathematical/engineering accomplishment. According to Adewunmi (2004) in Gimba
and Agwagah (2012), the pre-history Egyptian priests invented mathematics in
order to determine the land available for agriculture because of the constant
over flooding of the Nile River. This
helped greatly in strengthening their economy and engendering the collective
wellbeing of the people.
The subject
– mathematics – is the bedrock of all technological advancements e.g. space
exploration, computer technology, motor vehicles, electrical and electronic
equipment, dams and irrigation systems etc are all products of series of
mathematical operations.
As a result
of the high importance of mathematics in our everyday life and its necessity
for technological development one could safely say that it is one of the
essential ingredients for national development.
Ale and Adetula (2010) assert that mathematics is a catalyst for
national development and wealth creation.
Azuka (2001) in Gimba and Agwagah (2012) sees mathematics as the bedrock
of science, technology and modern development.
He is of the opinion that the survival of a nation hinges on
technological development which is only achievable through effective teaching
and learning of mathematics.
In view of
this, the National Policy on Education (2004) accords mathematics a high place
of prominence in the nation’s educational policy. It is one of the core subjects to be studied
at the primary, junior and senior secondary school levels as stated in the
policy.
In spite of
its importance, mathematics sometimes involves rigorous processes and elaborate
computations. So, students consider it
to be highly abstract and tend to develop a phobia for it. There is therefore the need to employ various
techniques for motivating students to learn mathematics.
Biehler and
Snowman (1986) in Tella (2007) are of the opinion that motivation is an
essential ingredient in achieving success in any human learning endeavor.
Ogumoyero and Omasheye (2012) referring to Penick (2006) and Rogers (1969) on
the other hand, assert that human beings are characterized by tendencies
towards learning. Thus, human beings are
naturally teachable and curious. In
spite of this, there is usually the need to motivate people for achieving
success in learning. However, motivation
arises as a result of drive towards a goal.
The drive decreases once the goal has been achieved (Taiwo, 2011;
Whitehead, 1996).
According to
Glynn and Koballa (2006), motivation is an internal state which involves the
arousal, direction and sustenance of students’ behavior. This explains why students work hard to
achieve high academic performance in science subjects. It also explains the
depth and length of time involved in such endeavor and the feelings and
emotions applied in achieving success in such subjects. Glynn and Koballa (2006) referring to Brophy
(1988), explain that ‘motivation to learn’ encompasses students’ resolve to
attach meaning and value to an academic activity with a view to obtaining the
benefits accruing from such activity.
Hall (1989)
in Tella (2007) states categorically that pupils need to be motivated in
arousing and sustaining their interests in learning mathematics. This is necessary in view of the abstractions
and complexities involved in mathematical operations.
The major
dimensions of motivational constructs involved in the study of motivation to
learn science (and by extension mathematics), comprises of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation, goal orientation, self-determination, self-efficacy and
assessment anxiety (Glynn & Koballa, 2006).
Intrinsic
motivation usually occurs as a result of a student’s internal drive for
superior academic performance while extrinsic motivation occurs as a response
to given external stimuli e.g. award, peer recognition and acceptance,
teachers’ praises and other positive reinforcements (Glynn & Koballa, 2006;
Mazlo et al, 2002; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002; Alfred Posamentier 2013). Intrinsic motivation involves a student’s
pursuit of personal interests and the ‘exercise of capabilities’ and this
engenders deep internal satisfaction and joy (Glynn & Koballa, 2006; Ryan
& Deci, 2000; Singh, Granville & Dika, 2002).
Goal
orientation comprises principally of learning goals and performance goals.
Learning goals involves learning for the sake of having a full understanding of
a subject. Students with learning goals
will therefore seek to surmount the challenges and problems they are having
with a subject and would go all out to seek help in order to enhance their
performance in the subject. Performance
goal on the other hand involves the pursuit of the self-esteem by the
learner. A student with performance goal
wants to gain the accolade of his peers and teachers with a view to enhancing
his social status (Cavallo et al, 2003; Glynn & Koballa, 2006).
Self-determination
encompasses the ability to make a choice out of the various options available
and effectively have control over the option chosen and the methodology
involved in actualizing the option so chosen.
Students generally want to be involved in contributing to their
teaching-learning procedure and learning outcomes, and would not want to lose
control over such. Self-determination is
directly related to, and effectively enhances intrinsic motivation (Glynn &
Koballa, 2005; Glynn & Koballa, 2006; Reeve, Hamm & Nix, 2003; Garcia
& Pintrich, 1996).
Self-efficacy
refers to the students’ self-confidence about their ability to achieve high
performance in a subject. It is the best
predictor of the grades attainable in any subject. Self-efficacy is also subject-specific i.e. a
learner may achieve high self-efficacy in mathematics and low self-efficacy in
chemistry (Glynn & Koballa, 2006; Zusho & Pintrich, 2003; Dermitzaki, Stavroussi,
Vavougios & Kotsis, 2012).
Every student
experiences some level of trepidation (i.e. anxiety) in relation to their
performance in mathematics and, in fact, all subjects. A moderate dose of anxiety is desirable in
order to enhance motivation to learn any subject. It will become excessive, however, when
students are not well prepared for a subject upon which they are to be
examined. The level of anxiety also
differs from students to student based on personal differences. Thus, the level of anxiety may be higher in
introverts (even if they are well prepared) than in extrovert (Glynn &
Koballa, 2006; Cassady & Johnson, 2002; Seymour, 1992).
Another area
of contention is the issue of gender difference in academic performance in
mathematics. Udousoro (2011) expresses
gender as a cultural construct which explains the roles and behavior together
with the mental and emotional characteristics of males and females as ascribed
by the society. This concept does not
necessarily suggest the dominance of males over the females in academic
performance and other human endeavor.
However, there has always been the belief that boys tend to perform
better than girls in mathematics. This
stereotype is reinforced by the findings of Isaacson (1992) working with
certain female students who believed that ‘girls are considered weird when they
love mathematics’. Recent researches
have however revealed various mixes of performances in mathematics by both
sexes at the primary and secondary school levels in different nations of the
world (Awofala & Anyikwa, 2014; Lukenbill, 1995; Hyde & Mertz, 2009;
Mubeen, Saheed & Arif, 2013).
Researches
on the influence of gender differences in performance in mathematics in the
United States of America and United Kingdom reveal that there is an
insignificant difference in performance in mathematics due to gender at the
elementary school level. However,
studies revealed that the difference in performance in mathematics, in the two
nations, widens at the high school level weighing in favour of male students
(Awofala & Anyikwa, 2014; Lukenbill, 1995; Hyde & Mertz, 2009).
Ekeh (2003)
in Udousoro (2011) revealed that Male secondary school students in Nigeria
achieve higher academic performance in mathematics and science than their
female counterparts; due primarily to ‘sex role stereotyping and differential
valuation of male and female roles’ as ascribed by the society. This position was corroborated by the
findings of The National Assessment of Educational Progress (1992), as
explained by Udousoro (2011), which revealed that male students within the age
brackets of 9, 13 and 17 obtained higher scores in mathematics than the girls
in the same age brackets.
Some studies
have revealed that the gender difference in academic performance in science and
mathematics is attributable to the interplay of two associated cognitive
styles; namely empathizing and systemizing cognitive styles – rather than to
the mere biological configuration of males and females (Billington, Baron-Cohen
& Wheelwright, 2007; Zeyer, 2014; Zeyer, Cetin-Dinder, Zain, Jurisevic,
Devetak & Odermatt, 2011).
Empathizing could be defined as the drive and ability to recognize
another person’s mental/emotional state and to effectively respond with
appropriate emotion. It enhances
interactions in the social world. Thus,
an empathizer is able to appreciate the feelings of others. An empathizer would function well in careers
that foster social interaction like nursing, teaching and other social
works. Females are generally very
active in empathizing (Zeyer et al, 2011) and tend to prefer nurturing fields
like nursing and teaching to quantitative fields as prevalent in the physical/natural
sciences (Kane & Mertz, 2012).
Systemizing
on the other hand encompasses the ability and the drive for carrying out the
analysis of the rules inherent in a system with a view to predicting how it
functions (Billington et al, 2007; Zeyer, 2014; Zeyer, 2010). A system is any construct which comprises of
input process output relationship (Billington et al 2007, Zeyer 2014). According to Billington et al (2007), it
could be technical (e.g. machines and tools), natural (e.g. a weather system),
abstract (e.g. mathematics), social (e.g. a political system), spatial (e.g.
map reading) and organisable (e.g. taxonomy).
The difference in motivation to learn science and mathematics is not due
to gender configuration but driven by tendencies towards empathizing or
systemizing (Billington et al, 2007; Zeyer et al, 2011). Systemizers are generally more interested in
natural sciences and are therefore more motivated to study sciences than
empathizers. However, girls by nature
easily gravitate towards empathizing while boys are amenable to
systemizing. This partly explains why
male students tend to attain higher academic achievement in sciences and
mathematics than girls.
The major
thrust of this research therefore is to assess senior secondary school
students’ motivation to learn mathematics as related to gender and performance
in mathematics.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Academic
achievement in mathematics has always suffered setbacks at the senior secondary
school level as exhibited in the poor performance in major external and
internal examinations of the schools over the years. The mass failure in mathematics is a major
problem for educators, teachers and school administrations, and parents because
it slows down the academic/intellectual development of students. It also prevents them from going further in
their academic pursuits in the tertiary institutions of learning, as there are
very few courses that can be embarked upon without a pass at credit level in
mathematics.
The major
cause of failure in mathematics at the senior secondary school level is
attributable to lack of adequate motivation and interest to learn the subject
bearing in mind the rigorous and abstract nature of mathematical operations.
It has also
been observed that male students tend to be more motivated to learn mathematics
and therefore obtain higher academic achievement in mathematics than their
female counterparts. This research work, therefore, sets out to effect an
assessment of senior secondary school students’ motivation to learn mathematics
as related to gender and performance in mathematics.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose
of this research work is to carry out an investigation on:
ü Senior secondary schools students’ motivation
to learn Mathematics,
ü the difference in motivation to learn
Mathematics between male and female students, and
ü the relationship between motivation to learn
mathematics and performance in mathematics.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In this
research work the following questions were addressed:
§ What is the level of motivation to learn
mathematics among senior secondary school students in Nigeria?
§ Is gender a factor in performance in
Mathematics and motivation to learn Mathematics among senior secondary schools’
students in Nigeria?
§ What are the composite and relative
contributions of dimensions of motivation (intrinsic motivation and extrinsic
motivation, goal orientation, self-determination, self-efficacy, and assessment
anxiety) and gender to the explanation of the variance in senior secondary
schools students’ performance in mathematics?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT
According to
Killing (1973) in Nwadinigwe (2012), hypotheses form the launch pad for the
entire research process. It determines
the direction and the magnitude of the work to be done in carrying out the
research work.
The
hypothesis below was therefore tested in this research work:
ü Gender is not a significant factor in
performance in Mathematics and motivation to learn Mathematics among senior
secondary schools’ students in Nigeria
1.6 SIGNIFICNCE OF THE STUDY
This
research work is being carried out for the benefit of students, parents, school
teachers and administrators, educational authorities and curriculum
developers. Students will be able to
acquire techniques and skills for self motivation in order to attain high
academic performance in mathematics and foster their personal development. Parents would be able to derive knowledge and
skills for taking care of gender issues and stereotypes, thereby properly
motivating their children and wards for superior academic achievement in
mathematics. Teachers, school
administrators, educational authorities, curriculum developers would be able to
determine where to direct efforts and action in properly empowering the
students – irrespective of their gender - for superlative academic achievement
in mathematics.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of
this research work involves the assessment of senior secondary school students’
motivation to learn mathematics as related to gender and performance in
mathematics. A total sample comprising
of three hundred and fifteen senior secondary school students was drawn from
two accredited senior secondary schools in the Education District 4 of Lagos
State covering Apapa, Mainland and Surulere local government areas i.e. Zones
1, 2 and 3 respectively.
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