TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
1.3 Theoretical
Framework
1.4 Purpose
of Study
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Research
Hypotheses
1.7 Significance
of the Study
1.8 Scope
and Delimitation of the Study
1.9 Operational
definition of Terms:
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE
REVIEW
2.1 Test
Score Theory
2.2 Test
Blueprint
2.3 Item
analysis of Instrument
2.4 Relevance
of Mathematics Education
2.5 Concept
of Motivation and Academic Achievement
2.6 Concept
of Motivation and Goal Orientations
2.7 Self-actualization
and Academic Achievement
2.8 Achievement
Needs and classroom Performance.
2.9 Attribution
Theory and Achievement
2.10 Locus
of Control and Academic Achievement
2.11 Locus
of Control and Self-efficacy
2.12 Self-Efficacy
and Mathematics Achievement
2.13 Implication
of Attribution and Self-Efficacy
2.14 Expectancy
Value Theory
2.15 Implications
of expectancy Theory for Education
2.16 Relationship between Expectations and
Success
2.17 Concepts
of Learning and Performance Goals
2.18 Guidelines
for Effective Praise
2.19 Attitude
and Mathematics Achievement
2.20 Gender
and Academic Achievement
2.21 Self-determination
2.22 Interest
and Achievement
2.23 Psychometric
Properties of Assessment Instruments
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research
Design
3.2 Area
of Study
3.3 Population
of the study
3.4. Questionnaire Construction
3.5
The Pilot Study Stages
3.6
Sample and Sampling Technique
3.7 Instrumentation
3.8 Procedure
for data collection
3.9 Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF DATA AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION,
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONLUSIONS, CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE, IMPLICATIONS OF
FINDINGS, RECCOMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
5.1
Discussion of Findings
5.2
Summary of Findings
5.3
Conclusion
5.4
Contribution to Knowledge
5.5
Implication of Findings
5.6: Recommendations
5.7 Suggestions for further studies
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Learning involves
a relatively durable change in behaviour especially in the classroom setting which
can be used to measure learning outcomes (Ilogu, 2005). Many variables often
influence these changes such as learning environment, teachers’ instructional
methods, learning strategies, students’ expectation of their own performance, expectation
of parents, attitude towards learning, determination to succeed, achievement
motivation among others. Among these variables, the motivational ability
inherent in the individual is of paramount importance (Weiner, 1992). The
achievement motivated students therefore seek achievement attainment of
realistic but challenging goals and advancement in school subjects to enable
them actualize their dreams in life.
However, these
significant factors are rarely appreciated by students in their adventures or
experiences of life; and therefore, few actions are taken to develop this intrinsic
ability. Consequently, familiarity with the knowledge or mechanism of goal-setting
and its effectiveness rarely impacts motivation in any set goal. At this
juncture, one is forced to ask or wonder if this could be ascribed as one of
the reasons students pay less attention to certain but important subject, and
often are insusceptible to motivation in it.
Some people are highly
motivated to succeed and expend considerable effort striving to excel-like Kanu
Nwankwo, a Nigerian footballer whose remarkable recovery from heart surgery was
capped by being voted as African footballer of the year and the British
Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) African Footballer of the year (BBC Sport
1999),. Prof. Wole Soyinka was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature even
without a Ph.D certificate (McPherson, 1998). Jon Krakauer, an American whose
laborious and grueling effort to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 1996
despite the death of some other contestants, Michael Jordan’s success in
basketball all demonstrated need for achievement (Weiten, 2007). Sampson Davis,
Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins also exemplified their desire to achieve and
thereby strove to become doctors (Passer & Smith 2004). Though most
students are keenly aware of society’s emphasis on achievement, whether in
academics, sports, music or other fields through personal effort and abilities
to attain their goals but individuals differ in their achievement motivation, others
who are not as motivated to succeed do not work as hard to achieve.
Achievement
Motivation has been measured by some sort of projectile test such as Murray’s
Thematic Apperception Test (1938) which has been vigorously advocated by
McClelland in a great range of publications (McClelland, 1955). The identification of meaningful research
studies of the motivation of individuals to achieve in school can be a
frustrating task if one is aware of the current lack of both useful definitions
and a comprehensive theory of academic achievement motivation (Bowe,
Boyer & Scheirer,1970). They are of
the opinion that McClelland, Farquar, Frymier and others have made attempts at
organizing a general theory but little research has set out to speak
specifically to questions of motivation to achieve in school. However, Entwisle (1972) asserted that one of
the problems in using the Murray’s concept at the present time is that the
projectile tests now seem to have fallen into considerable disrepute because of
their unreliability. Achievement
behaviour is best defined as behaviour on skill tasks or, at least, on tasks
where individuals believe or feel that their competence affects outcomes.
Achievement behaviour is distinguished from other forms of behaviour by its
purpose: the goal of achievement behaviour is to be or feel competent or
incompetent (Maeher & Nicholls, 1980). Wayne (2000) asserts that
achievement involves the need to excel, especially in competition with others.
He also opined that people who are relatively high in need for achievement work
harder and more persistently than others. He concluded that situational factors
also influence achievement behaviour and that the pursuit of achievement tends
to increase when the probability of success and the incentive value of success
are high. Ilogu, (2005) defines achievement motivation as a pattern of actions
and feelings connected with striving to achieve some internalized level of
excellence. The alternative tests since then have been self-report tests which
use Likert Scale and check list methods. The extensiveness and non-cumulative
nature are the striking features of the literature on the non-projectile measurement
of Achievement Motivation. Studies have made several attempts to derive some
measures for achievement motivation. Examples of such instruments are: Achievement
Motivation Scale (AMS) by Shah, (1988), Mathematics Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire (MSLQ) by Pintrich, Smith,Garcia & McKeachie, (1991),
Achievement Motivation Profile (AMP) by Friedland, Mandel & Marcus (1996),
and Student Motivation Achievement Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI) by Strond
& Reynolds (2005).
The need to
measure achievement motivation in students cannot be overemphasized as this is
a crucial exercise that should be given adequate attention in order to enhance
students’ performance. A leadership-oriented teacher sets challenging goals,
has high expectations of students, and displays confidence that students will
assume responsibility and put forth extraordinary effort. The process of
measuring involves cogent variables such as: the characteristics of achievement
motivated students, locus of control, efficacy, attitude of teachers, parental
expectation and the expectation of the students. Omoegun (1995) identified the
home and family background as a major cause of maladaptive behaviours, while
discussing adolescent crises, hence the relevance of parental expectation as
part of the home front variables measured in this research.
The measurement
of achievement motivation is relevant in many areas, such as Evaluation of
Students for some of the following among others: pre-assessing of abilities,
monitoring learning process, diagnosing learning difficulties, supplying
information to parents and Selection of students for purposes like quiz,
debate, sport, promotion, class type placement and awards among others. Personnel
Selection, Personnel development, University and School Counselling as well as
Sports Psychology.
It has been the
desire of both past and present Nigerian leaders to achieve sustainable
development in the educational sector and policies are being continuously
developed for implementation in this area. This has therefore motivated
numerous researchers to develop interests in how to positively contribute to this
field in focus effort. Many policies and programmes such as the National Policy
on Education (NPE 1981) which was the outcome of the National Curriculum
Conference of 1969 have brought a remarkable change in Curriculum development
to emphasize the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics Education (STEM) to the national development (NPE), (2004). The 60:40 admission policies in which
60% of admission is in favour of Science and Information Technology was
developed thereafter by the Federal government towards the implementation of
STEM education (Effiom, 2008). The global educational goals such as vision
20-20 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Seven Point Agenda of the
late President Musa Yar’Adua, and Education for All (EFA) were all borne out of
the same concern. The driving force of economic development in the world today
and the major instrument of globalization have been identified as Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (STEM) (Danmole, 2011).
In Nigeria,
Mathematics is an important subject that has become a major requirement for admission
into University programmes as contained in the National Policy on Education
(NPE), (2004). Higher Mathematics examination scores at the entry level are
very important because they mostly determine success by the end the first
academic year and subsequent examinations of students during their academic
programme. The vast majority of university degrees require basic knowledge of Mathematics.
By inference, students who choose not to be motivated to achieve in Mathematics
at secondary school level might forfeit many future career opportunities that
they could benefit from. What this implies is that, they essentially turn their
backs on more than half the jobs in the labour market as most of these jobs
particularly in the present economic dispensation, require Mathematical skills.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Mass failure in
Mathematics in Nigerian schools in the past thirteen years has been a source of
concern to both government and stakeholders in the educational sector
nationwide (WAEC, 2006). But for the purpose of this research, attention was focused
on the experiences of students in Mathematics since this has been generating
serious challenges to research in this part of the world.
According to the
annual report from West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), students fail
woefully in Mathematics more than in English Language. However, many people are
of the opinion that the failure in Mathematics is not only at WAEC level but in
every examination at every level of the Nigerian educational sector. As a way
of suggesting a possible end to this national problem which, particularly, is
challenging the proficiency of Mathematics teachers in the educational sector,
this research is intended to investigate the assertion that virtually all
Nigerian students do not know that it takes goals setting to succeed, and that
it takes motivation to achieve every set goal. In other words, if a student
must pass Mathematics at credit level, the subject must first and foremost be
seen as a goal to success in academic pursuit and as such, develop a study
habit that will bring about success eventually and create room for future
careers that are in demand in the society. The importance attached to
Mathematics as one of the core subjects in the National Policy on Education
(NPE) spurred the successive governments to implement policies to remedy the
situation and encourage an improvement in the performance of students in the
subject. It is, however, heartrending, to say the least, that not many of these
policies gave adequate attention to the measurement of achievement motivation of
Nigerian students hence, only few of these policies yielded positive results.
Job forecasts
project a shortfall of well over half a million scientists and engineers by the
year 2020; increased retirements of teachers matched with enrollments in school
suggest as well the likelihood of a severe shortage of mathematics and science
teachers. It is, therefore, vitally important both to the nation and to each
individual that al student receive a qualitative education n mathematics. Every
human society has developed into the status where the subject has become
inevitable (United Kingdom report, 2006).
Consequently,
several research works have been generated from this challenge, and common to
all of them are the causes, effects and suggestions on how to correct the
situation. This research is one of the very numerous academic works that will attempt
to identify the causes of the mass failure in Mathematics, and make some
suggestions that could proffer a lasting solution to the challenges.
The focus of this
research is to do a scientific analysis of the hierarchical construction and
validation of Mathematics Achievement Motivation Scale (MAMS) and see whether
the use of this instrument which has not been generally employed by the researchers
would make a good change or not. Motivation is the cyclic experience that has
been convincingly proved to have aided very many individuals globally to
perform an instrumental action which in turn leads to the attainment of set
goals and the achievement of at least, temporary relief and satisfaction (Ferguson,
2000). This cyclic experience, however, has been considered with levity in this
part of the world. This research therefore sought to discover and determine how
this cyclic phenomenon can improve the performances of Senior Secondary School
Students in Mathematics in Nigeria.
In the past, a
pass in Mathematics was good enough for secondary school graduates to gain
admission into any institute of higher learning particularly if the course of
study was in the area of Arts or Social Sciences. But today, there is
compulsion of credit pass in both Mathematics (and English Language), which has
instilled fear or phobia into the minds of students who do not have sufficient
understanding of the subject. Thus this has probably degenerated into perpetual
failure in the subject at credit level in West Africa School Certificate. This
however, does not suggest that it is the beginning of the poor performances in
the subject. It has been observed that most of these students struggle to pass
successive summative tests at their formative ages. It is this attitude of
failure they carry to the advanced stages where it appears to everybody as the
points where the failure or lack of interest begins to manifest.
The neglect of
certain topics that are perceived to be difficult by the Mathematics teachers
who determine the fate or fortune of these student in the subject; the
non-availability of relevant teaching aids, and the inability of some teachers
to use the modern instructional materials in few places where they are
available are some of the major factors that constitute lack of motivation in
the students. Only very few of the students are motivated to see the
significance of identical elements and components of ideas, skills, attitudes
and objects.
The fear of
failure has prompted many students to indulge in examination malpractices which
in many cases have been supported by parents in order to get their
children/ward admitted into schools at different levels of education just
because students are not motivated to learn Mathematics. This rumor of
examination malpractices has prompted the researcher to verify and also to
establish some facts by going to West Africa Examination Council’s office where
the data below was given on demand.
Table 1: Table of Candidates Who Cheated in
Mathematics during WAEC Examination in Lagos State.
|
Year
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
X
|
Y
|
M
|
N
|
P
|
|
2000
|
790
|
237
|
1030
|
37
|
-
|
-
|
24
|
45
|
2163
|
97355
|
2.22
|
5.27
|
0.34
|
|
2001
|
1228
|
708
|
5166
|
20
|
-
|
-
|
01
|
07
|
7130
|
146107
|
4.87
|
13.68
|
0.69
|
|
2002
|
2066
|
433
|
8844
|
36
|
-
|
-
|
19
|
09
|
11407
|
129365
|
8.81
|
11.94
|
1.25
|
1-
Bringing in foreign materials
2-
Irregular activities inside or outside examination hall
3-
Collusion
4-
Impersonation
5-
Leakage
6-
Mass cheating
7-
Insult/Assault on supervisors and invigilators
8-
New cases – absentee with script
9-
- Forging continuous
assessment
10-
Script with inscription cheated
X- Total
number of candidate involved in the examination malpractice
Y- Total number of candidates who sat for the examination in the state
M- Number involved as a percentage of total sat in the state.
N- Number involved in the state as a percentage of total number of
candidates.
P- Malpractice number involved as a percentage of total candidates who
sat in the country.
SOO/TAA/daa *240203
Although, the West
Africa Examination Council’s (WAEC) report which is presented in Table 1 has
shown little achievement in the span of thirteen years which was between 2000
and 2012, this might be as a result of lack of motivation and we can certainly
no longer afford to wait for another thirteen years to get to about fifty
percent pass at credit level. One now begin to wonder when we would be able to
achieve above average performance if we continue to move at this pace.
Table 2: Percentage Failure in Mathematics 2000 - 2012
|
Year
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
|
% of failure
|
63.94
|
65.94
|
63.09
|
65.48
|
61.34
|
55.88
|
58.88
|
53.15
|
66.91
|
74.01
|
60.43
|
69.3
|
61.19
|
Source: WAEC Report 2012
In spite of the
obvious importance of the measuring instrument of achievement motivation that
is both diagnostic and prognostic for successful performance, the use of such measurement
tools appears not to be known to many as evident in the schools that were
visited in the course of administering this newly constructed instrument hence
the need to construct and validate an instrument that can measure the
achievement motivation of Senior Secondary Students especially in Mathematics.
This construction
and validation need arose in an attempt to explore some of the major reasons
behind mass failure in Mathematics and how help can be rendered in proffering a
lasting solution to this problem through the early use of the measuring
instrument constructed in this study to diagnose challenges of students in
learning mathematics.
1.3 Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this
study is based on:
1.
Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland, 1951)
2.
Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997)
3.
Realistic Mathematics Education Theory (Freudenthal,
1991)
Rationale for the
Choice of Theories:
Theories in this study represent major frameworks in
achievement motivation have been developed over few decades.. These theories
also share a common social-cognitive heritage. Social-cognitive theories
examine cognition and behaviour (e.g., attributions, expectancies, purposes,
perceived needs, capacities, and vulnerabilities) that are contextually located
and influenced. This is not to imply that the place of achievement motivation
instrument is explicit and central in each theory; however, when it comes to
operationalizing the theories in achievement motivation research, there is
often a clear relevance for the importance of Mathematics which cannot be
over-emphasized and the environment in which the learner finds self.
Theory of Achievement Motivation:
(McClelland, 1951)
McClelland’s
theory of achievement motivation states that a person’s tendency to approach a
task (effort) is a function of the strength of the achievement need, the
strength of the need to avoid failure, the person’s subjective belief about the
possibility of success or failure, and value of the incentives associated with
either success or failure. In 1951, McClelland developed a cognitive theory of
motivation in which the need for achievement is one element.s According to
McClelland (1951) and Atkinson (1964), achievement need is intrinsic. It is not
associated with extrinsic rewards that accrue as a result of achievement.
Achievement motivation can also be defined as the desire to experience success
and to participate in activities in which success depends on personal effort
and abilities.
The achievement-motivated
students possess the following characteristics; they are creative and
productive; they desire performance feedback, take time in thinking about doing
things better and exhibit overload principle in Mathematics. Also, they are not
likely to be involved in examination malpractices, they strive to succeed
rather than get a prize of success, they perceive themselves as personally
responsible for the outcome of their
actions (test scores inclusive), they prefer intermediate risks to
extremely high or low risks because of the outcome. Therefore, achievement
motivated students are not gamblers (Koestner & McClelland, 1990).
These
characteristics of achievement-motivated students are better captured in this
analogy: an undergraduate with a high need for achievement will generally get
better grades than equally bright student with weaker achievement needs
(McClelland 2006). Elliot & McGregor 1999 also established that high-need
achievers tend to adopt mastery and performance-approach goals. Students with
mastery and performance-approach goals perceive examinations as a positive
challenge and would rate Mathematics more interesting, enjoyable but are weakly
associated with feelings of both challenge and threat. This implies that they
display optimal pattern of motivation for Mathematics ( Harackiewicz, Baronn,
Pintrich, Elliot, & Trash (2002). This is a platform on which the focus of
this study is based, that students become high-need achievers in Mathematics even
in the face of difficult topics or any unfavourable situation. Students should
have the conviction of their own success which is dependent on their effort
rather than strive to just satisfy their parental expectation of them.
The Social-Cognitive Theory: (Albert
Bandura, 2001)
The
Social–cognitive theory of Albert Bandura (2001), states that behaviour,
environment, and person/cognitive factors are important in understanding
personality. A key concept in social-cognitive theory is reciprocal
determinism, in which characteristics of the person, the person’s behaviour,
and the environment all influence one another to create personality.
Expectancy,
Reinforcement Value, Locus of Control, Social Learning and Self Efficacy are
some concepts that hover around this theory of social cognitive theory. There
are many models that attempt to explain our path in life. Murray (1983)
constructed a list of twenty basic human needs of which achievement was one. He
described achievement as being able to succeed at a hard task but Maslow (1954)
based on Murray’s work, proposed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; this is five step
model which is similar to moving from an external to an internal locus of
control. All these are to form bases for the role of personal behaviour and environment
which are major determinants of acceptance of either success or failure based
on personal effort.
The relevance of
this theory as regards the environment and cognitive factors are equally
important in this research since the student’s environment has a great role to
play as it is usually said that nature determines a child’s cognition but
environment nurtures. Parental expectation is one of the environmental factors treated
in this research. Bandura established that there are certain steps involved in the
modeling process: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. He
believed that unless a student is motivated, he will not try to pay attention,
retain and reproduce an action which is applicable to learning mathematics.
Realistic Mathematics Education Theory (Freudenthal, 1991)
Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) theory of Freudenthal states that Mathematics must be
connected to reality and human activity. Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) is a teaching and learning
theory in mathematics education that was first introduced and developed by the
Freudenthal Institute in the Netherlands. This theory has been adopted by a
large number of countries all over the world such as England, Germany, Denmark,
Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, USA, Japan, and Malaysia (de Lange,
1996). The two types of Mathematizations which were formulated
explicitly in an educational context by Treffers in 1987 are horizontal and
vertical mathematizations. Freudenthal (1991) stated that “horizontal mathematizations
involves going from the world of life into the world of symbols, while vertical
mathematizations means moving within the world of symbols.” But he adds that
the difference between these two types is not always clear cut. The success of
RME in Holland and United States of American prompted the evaluation that was
commissioned by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) which comprised
both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Several
positive results of the RME theory can be found in the United States of America
where RME is adopted in the "Mathematics in context" textbooks for
grade 5-8. After the books were used by students in several school districts
from different states, a preliminary research showed that the students’
achievement on the national test highly increased (Romberg & de Lange,
1998). Furthermore, in the country where RME originally has been developed, the
Netherlands, there are also positive results that can be used as indicators for
the success of RME in the reform of mathematics education. The results of the
Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) show that students in
the Netherlands gained high achievements in mathematics education (Mullis,
Martin, Beaton, Gonzalez, Kelly & Smith, 1997).
Historically,
the characteristics of RME is related to
the Van Hiele’s levels of learning mathematics. According to Van Hiele (cited
in de Lange, 1996) the process of learning proceeds through three levels: (1) a
pupil reaches the first level of thinking as soon as he can manipulate the known
characteristics of a pattern that is familiar to him/her; (2) as soon as he/she
learns to manipulate the interrelatedness of the characteristics he/she will
have reached the second level; (3) he/she will reach the third level of
thinking when he/she starts manipulating the intrinsic characteristics of
relations.
Zulkardi H.(2010) worked on ‘How to Design Mathematics Lessons based
on the Realistic Approach’ and combined the three Van Hiele’s levels,
Freudenthal’s didactical phenomenology and Treffers’ progressive mathematizations
resulted in the following five basic
characteristics of realistic mathematics education: (1) phenomenological
exploration or the use of contexts; (2) the use of models or bridging by
vertical instruments; (3) the use of students own productions and constructions
or students contribution (4) the interactive character of the teaching process
or interactivity(5) the intertwining of various learning strands.
Furthermore, by
guided reinvention and progressive mathematizations, students are guided
didactically to process as efficiently from one level to another level of
thinking through mathematizations. Therefore, this theory will make students
tend towards mastery goal which reflects intrinsic motivation and in turn boost
academic performance in Mathematics. Some items of the MAMS are therefore based
on the application of Mathematics to daily living.
1.4 Purpose of Study
The purpose of
this study is to construct and validate Mathematics Achievement Motivation
Scale (MAMS). This instrument was constructed to measure the degree of
motivation for senior secondary students to excel in Mathematics.
Specifically, the purpose of this
study is to:
1.
investigate the
possibility of Mathematics Achievement
Motivation Scale (MAMS) predicting students’ performance in Mathematics
Achievement Test (MAT)
2.
establish the concurrent validity of Mathematics Achievement Motivation Scale
(MAMS)
3.
determine the difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation due to gender.
4.
determine the difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation due to age level of participants.
5.
determine the difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation due to class type.
6.
establish the difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation due to geo-political zones.
7.
discover the joint effects of Mathematics Achievement
Test (MAT) scores and Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS) on Mathematics
Achievement Motivation Scale (MAMS).
1.5 Research Questions
1.
To what extent will the Mathematics Achievement
Motivation Scale (MAMS) predict performance in Mathematics Achievement Test
(MAT)?
2.
To what extent will the Mathematics Achievement
Motivation Scale (MAMS) be concurrently valid?
3.
Is there gender difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation?
4.
Is there age difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation?
5.
Is there difference in Mathematics Achievement
Motivation due to class type?
6.
Would there be any difference in Mathematics
Achievement Motivation due to geo-political zones?
7.
What would be the joint effect of Mathematics
Achievement Test (MAT) scores and Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS) on Mathematics
Achievement Motivation Scale (MAMS)?
1.6 Research Hypotheses
The following stated hypotheses were tested during the study:
1.
There is no significant predictive validity between
the Mathematics Achievement Motivation
Scale (MAMS) and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT)
2.
There is no significant coefficients of concurrent
validity when Mathematics Achievement Motivation Scale (MAMS) is correlated
with Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS)
3.
There is no significant difference in Mathematics
Achievement Motivation due to gender.
4.
There is no significant age difference in Mathematics
Achievement Motivation.
5.
There is no significant difference in Mathematics
Achievement Motivation due to class type.
6.
There is no significant difference in Mathematics
Achievement Motivation due to geo-political zones.
7.
There is no joint effect of Mathematics Achievement
Test (MAT) scores and Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS) on Mathematics
Achievement Motivation Scale (MAMS).
1.7 Significance of the Study
The instrument would be used for teaching, selection and evaluation of
students’ preparedness for mathematical skills. The reliability and validity of
this instrument would be of immense benefit to teachers who would counsel
students on how to improve on their mastery and performance-goal factors and
stay motivated to achieve by relying on their effort and refuse to cheat in any
way.
It would be of great benefit to counsellors as diagnostic tool in the
area of discovery of students’ challenges and prognostic in the area of proffering
solution to the discovered challenges.
It would help the
policy makers, curriculum development bodies such as Mathematics Association of
Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)
and West African Examination Council (WAEC) among others in making scholarship
awards available to the public and also reward students that are achievement
motivated in Mathematics. The findings would help in the area of orientation for
appropriate bodies in emphasizing the importance of Mathematics for National
development. The validity of this instrument will also serve as basis for
future research.
1.8 Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study covered
Senior Secondary School Two (SSII) classes from eighteen secondary schools
which were selected from all the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The
selected schools are the schools that are both co-educational and have the
three class types of classes. The study also covered students’ performance in
Mathematics and two other instruments namely Mathematics Achievement Motivation
Scale and Mathematics Motivation Scale.
1.9 Operational
definition of Terms:
Internal
Consistency: this is the extent to which the items in a test are similar to
one another in content. Cronbach”s Alpha and Kuder-Richardson methods can be
applied to estimate this.
Achievement Motivation: This is the intention to achieve based on
one’s effort. That is the behaviour of an individual who desires to experience
success and to participate in numerical activities in which success depends on
personal effort and abilities to enhance competence and a positive approach to
study with zeal in order to be more competent in Mathematics rather than to be
praised by someone or for the purpose of recognition as the leading student in
Mathematics in this study.
Expectation: The act or state
of looking forward or anticipating excellence in academic achievement or the degree of probability that
there would be high performance in Mathematics.
Factor analysis: is a statistical method used to describe variability
among observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of
unobserved variables called factors.
Mathematics Achievement Test: is
the test that measures the current status of students on what they have learnt
and the skills they have mastered in Mathematics classes.
Mathematics Motivation: this is the
process that influences the direction, persistence and vigor of goal directed
behaviour towards achieving in Mathematics.
Class Type: This is the
different classes into which students are classified according to their entire
learning domains. These are Commercial, Art and Science classes.
Learning involves a relatively
permanent change in behaviour or performance, which comes as a result of
practice, experience or exposure rather than as a result of physiological
factors (such as maturation, drugs or fatigue).
Gender is the condition of
being male or female and / or category that describe behaviours, attitudes,
feeling and other characteristics as being appropriate for a male or female.
Also gender is the categorization of people on the basis of their biological
set.
Performance: This is an action
or achievement, considered in relation to how successful it is. Performance means
to access a person’s intelligence, done by observing ability to manipulate.
Academic Performance: In this
study, it refers to the ability of a student to perform relatively well in his
/ her academic pursuit including class-work, internal and external examination
in Mathematics
Attitude: This is a combination of concepts, information
and emotions that result in a predisposition to respond favourably or
unfavourably towards particular people (Maths teacher), group (Classmates),
event objects or ideal (Maths).
Learning Goals: These are the
goals of students who are motivated primarily by desire for mathematical
knowledge acquisition and self-improvement.
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