CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION SCALE (MAMS) IN PREDICTING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT TEST (MAT)

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Product Code: 00001656

No of Pages: 139

No of Chapters: 5

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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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