TEACHERS’ CHARACTERISTICS AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TEACHERS’ CHARACTERISTICS AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1          Background to the Study

The importance of mathematics in various factors of human development are recognized worldwide. Mathematics is the branch of knowledge, which deals with the understanding of numbers and space and which is one of the ways of gaining some measure of control over our environment. In the development of science and technology, the importance of mathematics is unique. To this end, the emphasis is placed on mathematics as a core subject both primary and secondary school level of education. Despite the relationship between mathematics on one hand and science and technology on another hand, the performance of students in mathematics certificate examination and in the number of applicants wishing to study mathematics or pursue science related courses in tertiary level of education in Nigeria is not encouraging.

The key to the success of any educational programme lies in the ability of the teacher whose hand the programme is entrusted. The more quality and experience a teacher is the greater the rate of success in achieving the educational goal and objectives spelt out for the programme. The importance of teachers’ characteristics in realizing educational goals and objectives in any education system cannot be overemphasized. Teachers’ characteristics are the instrumental behaviour exhibited by the teacher towards goals attainment. Those characteristics are the combination of peculiar qualities, traits, mental or moral nature/strength and status that makes one person or group different from another.

According to Offorma (1994), Successful teachers’ characteristics are those that have been found by empirical researchers to be related to improving achievement by students in the cognitive, affective or psychomotor outcomes of education. A more qualified teacher seeks to know his learners’ behaviour during the teaching/learning process and he must perceive the individual learner in a holistic way since gender neutral has affective, cognitive and psychomotor talents. Also, students participation in the instrumental process is critical and their perception of methodological challenges whenever they are underprepared. The teacher’s awareness and perception of the way his/her students thinks can help improve and also adjust the teaching strategies to enhance student’s understanding and productivity.

                National Policy on Education (2004), conceptualizes teacher’s effectiveness as the managerial skills essential for enhanced classroom control and discipline. It is the teacher’s competence, qualification, ability, experience, resourcefulness that brings out the best from learners in terms of attitude towards learning hence nothing is taught until it has been learnt and this happens when the teacher succeeds in causing a change in the behaviour of the learner especially in mathematics

                Attitude is the central part of human identity. It is also seen as “a predisposition to respond in a certain way to a personal situation, events or idea”. In mathematics most people love, like-dislike, favour, oppose, hate, agree and disagree, argue, persuade etc. All these are evaluative responses to an object. Hence attitude can be defined as “a summary evaluation of an object of thought”. According to Boher and Wanke (2002), “attitude refers to a predisposition to classify objects and event to react with evaluating consistency. A person who shows a certain attitude towards something is reacting to his conception of that thing rather than to its actual state.

                Attitude can also be defined as an internal belief that influences personal action which is learned through one’s experience which has to do with a disposition to act or react in a particular way as the individual responds to a situation. Teachers, experience has to do with the teacher’s teaching effectiveness, because something that is done over and over again is likely to be a higher degree of mastery of the subject contents. According to Uya (2011), a teacher who has a deep understanding of the concept to be taught due to experiences overtime is more likely to use unambiguous language and their presentation is likely to be more coherent and they would offer cleaver explanation than those with lower experience.

                Considering the Secondary School teachers who had their training in the Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, the contents of mathematics to which they have been exposed to, seems adequate for secondary schools teaching and a general methodology of modern techniques. A skilled or an experienced teacher summaries and link ideas together at the end of his lesson. Teachers’ characteristics in instructional delivery are therefore a measure of the teacher’s ability to apply professional qualification and classroom management skills in a teaching/learning situation. Hence the question of this study, to what extent do teachers’ characteristics influence students’ attitude towards learning of mathematics?

1.2          Statement of the Problem

Despite the functions and roles played by mathematics in the world of science and technology, mathematics is the subject that is most feared by students in primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. Students’ impression is that mathematics is difficult by its very nature and that mathematics is highly structured and so abstract that it requires special intellectual talents. Thus, students see the subject as something esoteric that is to be feared (Nworgu, 1990). The consequences of students’ negative attitude towards mathematics could be the persistent poor performance in mathematics in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations, the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations and the General Certificate in Education (GCE) examinations in recent years in Nigeria and students reluctance in studying mathematics related courses. The negative attitude and poor performance of students produced has continued to subject teachers to criticism such as lack of necessary professional qualification. This study sought to investigate the teachers’ characteristics with respect to their qualification and classroom management skills as they influence students’ attitude towards learning of mathematics.

1.3          Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of Teachers’ characteristics on the attitude of students towards learning of mathematics in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. This is thus specifically stated as:

i.              To examine the relationship between teachers’ qualification and students’ attitude towards learning of mathematics.

ii.             To determine the relationship between the teachers’ classroom management skills and students’ attitude towards learning of mathematics.

1.4          Significance of the Study

Government, Educational policy makers, proprietors of schools and parents will find this work useful because it will make them become aware of the staffing situation of schools. If the state education board and the ministry of education are aware of the fact that qualified mathematics teachers are still lacking in most schools, it will help them to consider the training and posting of qualified mathematics teachers to the different schools in urban and rural areas.

It will help students improve their academic performance in mathematics; it will help teachers adapt to teaching methods that will require positive feedback from the students; it will help the parents to know and have a clear picture of their wards academics performance and progress.

1.5          Research Hypothesis

To achieve the purpose of the study, the following hypotheses are formulated.

Ho1:       There is no significant relationship between teachers’ qualification and students’ attitude towards learning mathematics.

Ho2:       There is no significant relationship between teachers’ classroom management skills and students’ attitude towards learning mathematics.

1.6          Limitation of the Study

This study was limited to the teachers’ characteristics and student’s attitude towards learning of mathematics in selected secondary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. The finance required in other to produce the needed instrument and the transportation fare to the various schools that the research was carried out was insufficient.

1.7          Definition of Terms

Attitude: This could be defined as a consistent tendency to react in a particular way often positively or negatively towards any matter.

Characteristic:   This refers to some distinguishing features of individual example Mental and moral qualities.

Classroom management: Classroom management refers to the skills and techniques that the teacher’s uses to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task and academically productive during a classroom session.

Mathematics: This refers to an organized way of thinking and reasoning involving problem-solving activities.

Teacher: This refers to a person who gives instructions to or causes somebody (learner) to know or be able to do something he could not do before.

Teaching: This is a conscious and deliberate attempt or process for an unsporting new set of belief in an individual or group of people with effective consideration of the age and need of the learner.

Teacher’s Qualification: This refers to both professional and non-professional teachers. Professional teachers include teachers with NCE, BA(Ed), B.Sc(Ed), M.A(Ed) and non-professional teachers are the Academically Qualified teachers which include teachers with OND, HND, B.Sc, and M.sc without any Educational Certificate

Students: Refers to learners in an academic institution (secondary school and tertiary institutions