Comparison Of Junior And High School Attitude Towards Mathematics

The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes of students in junior and high schools towards mathematics classes, and to test whether or not there is a meaningful difference between the demographic properties of the students and their attitudes. The data used in this study were obtained from 1,801 students studying at junior and high schools. The data obtained in the study showed that the attitudes of the students towards mathematics are at medium level, and that there is a meaningful difference between the attitudes of the students towards mathematics classes and the education levels of their fathers and the students’ high school types. On the other hand, it has been determined that there is no meaningful difference between the gender of the students, the gender of the mathematics teachers, attending to an extra course, receiving private lessons for mathematics, their perceived success status, educational levels of their mothers, the income level of their families, the number of siblings, the order of the student in the family as a sibling, fathers’ and mothers’ profession, and the attitudes of the students. According to the Multi Linear Regression Analysis which was performed with the purpose of determining the factors affecting the attitudes of the students in the study group, the Gender of the Mathematics Teacher ( = -.073), the Profession of the Mother ( = .069) and the Educational Level of the Father ( = .049) have effects in determining the attitudes of the students towards mathematics classes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• • PROBLEM STATEMENT

• • AIM/OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

• • PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

• • RESEARCH QUESTION

• • HYPOTHESIS

• • RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• • DEFINITION OF TERMS

• • PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• • OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

• • ATTITUDES AND SCHOOL GRADES

• • GENDER AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATHS

• • ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND ATTITUDES

• • MATHEMATICS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND ATTITUDES

• • MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDES

• • REVIEW OF MATHEMATICS

• • STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENT MOTIVATION IN MATH

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• • INTRODUCTION

• • RESEARCH DESIGN

• • SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

• • VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT

• • DATA COLLECTION

• • ANALYSIS OF THE DATA

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT ANALYSIS

• • RESULTS

• • DISCUSSION

CHAPTER FIVE

• • CONCLUSION

• • RECOMMENDATION

• • REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                           INTRODUCTION

1.1                                            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Mathematics, which is a thought, a lifestyle, and even a universal language, is accepted as an indispensable field in today’s fast-developing world for individuals, society, scientific research, and technological developments (Moralı, Köroğlu, & Çelik, 2004).

Mathematics is considered by many people to be a series of rules to be memorized, or as arithmetic calculations, mysterious and algebraic equations, and geometrical proofs (Delice, Ertekin, Aydın, & Dilmaç, 2009). For this reason, probably the most feared subject in the Nigeria educational system is the mathematics with no exception. The purpose of mathematics classes in schools is to help students gain problem-solving skills, reasoning, to be able to make interconnections, generalization, establish communications, and some other mathematical skills such as sensory and psychomotor skills, and to use these skills in order to solve problems they encounter in real life (Baykul, 1990; Olkun & Toluk Uçar, 2007; Gürefe & Kan, 2013). However, the real target in the educational system is obtaining voluntary changes in the positive direction of individuals’ behaviors from the education-training process. Often, students think that mathematical issues can either not be learned, or can only be learned with great difficulty. According to Baykul (1990), many students have difficulties in mathematics classes and this creates increased anxiety levels because they think that they cannot succeed in mathematics; and therefore develop negative attitudes towards mathematics classes. In another study, Baykul (1990) states that students gradually develop negative attitudes towards mathematics classes in the process from the 5th grades of primary education until the last grade of high school.

Perhaps the most important factor which influences mathematics success levels of students is the students’ attitude towards mathematics classes. It has been widely known for a very long time that there is a high-level relationship between mathematical success levels and attitudes towards mathematics. In the studies conducted so far, it has been suggested that students with higher positive attitudes towards mathematics also have higher levels of success (Peker & Mirasyedioğlu, 2003; Çanakçı & Özdemir, 2011).

It is possible to define the concept of ‘attitude’, which is at the very heart of the defining point of an individual’s behaviors, as follows: Attitude is the cognitive, sensory and behavioral positive or negative inclinations of an individual, and are directed towards the events, people, objects, thought systems and institutions within the limits of one’s perceptional realm. Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) defined the concept of ‘attitude’ as the learned inclination to give either a positive or negative reaction towards an individual (as cited by Çanakçı & Özdemir, 2011). According to Allport (1935), the ‘attitude’ is having a direct or dynamic effect on one’s reactions towards a certain object or an event (as cited by Çanakçı & Özdemir, 2011).

It is known that there are three components of the attitude; cognitive, sensory and behavioral dimensions. Although (i) environmental factors: negative classroom environment, teacher properties that may be perceived as negative, family pressure, highly complex symbols or signs used in mathematics, (ii) cognitive properties: lack of self-conscience in the student, having not gained sufficient mathematics knowledge and its infrastructure in previous mathematics experiences, (iii) personal properties: feeling insufficient in social relationships, shyness, being introvert, insufficient self- personality are interrelated with the mathematical anxiety, it must also be accepted that these properties have the power of affecting these three components of attitude. Papanastasiou (2000) states that mathematical attitude is the positive or negative attitude developed by the individual towards mathematics.

According to many researchers in the field, the positive or negative attitudes of students affects their success levels in mathematics classes in a positive or negative way (Peker & Mirasyedioğlu, 2003). In their studies, Ertem and Alkan (2004) state that the success or failure of students in mathematics classes is an important factor in developing the attitudes of the students (as cited by Boran, Aslaner, & Çakan, 2013). Terwilliger and Titus (1995) state that mathematical anxiety can also negatively affect the attitudes of students. Students’ attitudes towards mathematics are thought to be linked to certain variables. These variables include student gender, grade level, school type, perceived success level of high school students, mothers’ education level, fathers’ education level etc. (Ekizoğlu & Tezer, 2007). Aydınlı (1997) states there is no meaningful relationship between educational levels of high school students’ parents and the students’ attitude levels. In another study, Taşdemir (2008) states there is no meaningful difference between the mean values of students’ attitudes when the educational levels of their mothers are considered; however, when the education levels of the fathers are considered, there are differences in the attitudes points and the mean values at a meaningful level.

1.2                                                  PROBLEM STATEMENT

Many students have difficulties in mathematics classes and this creates increased anxiety levels because they think that they cannot succeed in mathematics; and therefore develop negative attitudes towards mathematics classes. It is known that there are three components of the attitude; cognitive, sensory and behavioral dimensions The finding that the attitudes of the high school students towards mathematics are at a medium level indicates that more detailed studies are needed in order to increase the attitudes of high school students towards mathematics. In this study, the findings show that the attitudes of the high school students towards mathematics are at a medium level mathematician.

1.3                                          PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there is a meaningful difference between the mean values of the mathematical attitude points of junior and high school students and their gender, the gender of their mathematics teachers, their high school type, private course attendance, receiving private mathematics lessons, education level of their mother, education level of their father, their perceived success levels, etc.

1.4                                    AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The research was conducted with the aim of achieving the following objectives;

1. 1. To find out the attitudes of private Junior and High School students toward

1. 1. To find out the attitudes of public Junior and High School students toward

• • To investigate whether there was any significant difference between the attitudes of private and public Junior and High School students toward

1. 1. To investigate whether there was any significant difference between the attitudes of Junior and High School students girls and boys toward

1.5                                                   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study sought to get answers to the following questions:

1. 1. What are the attitudes of private Junior and High School students toward mathematics?

1. 1. What are the attitudes of public Junior and High School students toward mathematics?

• • Is there any significant difference between the attitudes of private and public students toward mathematics?

• • Is there any significant difference between the attitudes of Junior and High girls and boys toward mathematics?

1.6                                                             HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

H₀1: There is no significant difference between the attitudes of private and public Junior and High School students toward mathematics

H₀2: There is no significant difference between the attitudes of Junior and High School girls and boys toward mathematics

1.7                                             RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the course of carrying this study, numerous sources were used which most of them are by visiting libraries, consulting journal and news papers and online research which Google was the major source that was used.

1.8                                           DEFINITIONS OF TERM

The following terms were defined as used in the study:

ATTITUDE: this refers to the expression of favour or disfavor of teacher and students of junior and high school toward mathematics.

TEACHERS: These are professionally trained personal that transmit knowledge, skills and values to students so that the latter can gain certain concept, idea, and experience in the teaching and learning of biology.

STUDENT: These are people who enrolled, attend, undertake and formally engaged in learning of mathematics as a course of learning in junior and high secondary schools.

MATHEMATICS: This is a subject that is concerned with the abstract science of number, quantity, and space, either as abstract concepts in junior and high school.

1.9                                     PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.