ABSTRACT
This research work examined the
difficulties encountered by students in solving algebraic problems in Surulere
Education District of Lagos State. The design used for the study was
descriptive survey. Data was collected from a sample of one hundred and twenty
students and fifteen mathematics teachers from four Senior Secondary Schools
selected. The instrument used was questionnaires for students, questionnaires
for teachers and diagnostic test for the students on algebra.
The main purpose of this study was to
analyze the difficulties encountered by Senior Secondary School students in
solving algebraic problems in senior secondary school and identify the
difficulties that students encounter in solving algebraic problems, identify
the various factors contributing to the difficulties faced by students while
solving algebraic problems and to assess student’s level of performance in
algebra.
The result of the diagnostic test revealed
that the students performance was poor due to the difficulty in understanding symbols
and special terms, poor understanding of use of order of operation, inability
to interpret expression. Also from the questionnaire given to the teachers it
was revealed that lack of qualified teachers, large number of students in a
class made it difficult for students to solve algebraic problems. Conclusion
was drawn and recommendation was made.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
TITLE
PAGES
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TITLE CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 4
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 5
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS 6
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY 6
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 6
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
2.1
INTRODUCTION 8
2.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF MATHEMATICS AND ALGEBRA
2.3 DIFFICULTIES
STUDENTS ENCOUNTERED IN SOLVING 9
ALGEBRIC
PROBLEMS
2.4 EFFECT
OF PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS IN 14
ALGEBRA
2.5 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE DIFFICULTIES 17
ENCOUNTERED BY
THE STUDENTS IN SOLVING
ALGEBRAIC
PROBLEMS
2.6 SUMMARY
19
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION 21
3.1 THE
DESIGN OF THE STUDY 21
3.2 AREA
OF THE STUDY 21
3.3 POPULATION
OF THE STUDY 21
3.4 SAMPLE
AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 22
3.5 RESEARCH
INSTRUMENTS 22
3.6 METHOD
OF DATA COLLECTION 23
3.7 METHOD
OF DATA ANALYSIS 23
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODCUTION 24
4.2 PRESENTATION
OF DATA 24
4.3 ANALYSIS
OF DATA 33
4.4 MISTAKES
MADE BY THE STUDENTS 34
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.0 INTRODUCTION 35
5.1 DISCUSSION 35
5.2 CONCLUSION
36
5.3 RECOMMENDATION 38
REFERENCES 39
APPENDIX 43
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.2
BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Education is seen as the best means for
developing the potentialities of young and adult learners so that they can in
turn make meaningful contribution to the development of the society. Education
in Nigeria is an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national development
(National policy on Education, 2004). It is generally recognized that no
society or nation can make only significant progress without relevant
education.
According to Ivowi (2003), national
development can only occur if there is a crop of human resources with
sufficient knowledge and skills to interact with ideas and materials in order
to produce the required result. The development of an individual started from
his early childhood particularly at primary school (Owolabi, 1991).
Mathematics can be defined in various
ways but according to the Oxford dictionary (1982) it is the “science of
numbers”. Mathematics is also referred to as the acquisition of the ability by
an individual to apply deductive and inductive, reasoning to real life situation.
Abiodun (1989) states that Mathematics
is the core of all educational objective so to indulge people into functioning
effectively and efficiently especially in an age of modern technology. It
requires the person studying it to acquire the in depth knowledge of
mathematics so that he or she can understand the theories of the subject.
Ames (1992) said that Mathematics
enhances problem solving skills and analysis skills of students. It enables
students to apply their skills to both familiar and unfamiliar situations.
Dale (2008) describes Mathematics as a
base for all technologies. All innovations are by product of science and
mathematics. It is applied in medicine, engineering, natural science, social
science, physical science, technology, business and commerce. It is necessary
in learning computer science, computers are to be found in banks, hospitals,
universities etc. they are used by accountants, doctors, teachers, research
scientists, students and many others, all these becomes a reality as a result
of the importance of mathematics in all aspects of human life.
Butler (1960) describes mathematics as
the bedrock of all human knowledge. This
is because mathematics has been in the forefront of human endeavours to
understand his environment and be able
to aggregate all factors in it, to make life comfortable for him. Hence
mathematics embraces many branches of science and highly required in many
spheres of life regardless of the manner of level of application.
Kenku (1988) defines mathematics as the
language of science. He further explains that mathematics could be better
defined as the study of numbers, shapes, physical systems and their
relationship.
Mathematics plays a major part in the
human daily lives, it started with counting, by the primitive man, this led to
computation argument and logical thinking followed. It is common knowledge that
mathematics is allocated the greatest number of period in the secondary
school’s timetable, however students perform least in it.
The objective of teaching mathematics in
Senior Secondary school are:
1. To generate interest in mathematics and lay a
solid foundation for everyday living.
2. To
develop pupils computational skills.
3. Encourage
creativity and provide necessary mathematical background for further education.
4. To
develop ability to be accurate to a degree relevant to the problem at hand.
5. To
develop ability to recognize problems and to solve them appropriately and
relate to mathematical knowledge.,
6. To
develop precise, logical and abstract thinking.
Don Small (2002) Identified high school
preparation, placement, syllabus, content, face, attitude, lack of persistence,
determination and pedagogy etc as the main factors that contribute to poor
performance of student in mathematics.
Many children growing into the adulthood
have developed negative attitude towards algebra (Brekke, 2001) students easily
understand algebra and it is a source of
consideration, confusion and negative attitudes among students.
According to Encarta premium (2006)
He defined algebra as a branch of
mathematics in which symbols (usually letters) reqpresents unknown numbers in
mathematical equations algebra allows
the basic operations of arithmetic’s, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division to be performed without
using specific numbers. Mac Gregor (2004) listed the reasons why students
should be helped to easily understand algebra and solve problems in it. Amongst
which are:
First, algebra is a vital part of the
general knowledge of numbers in a democratic society secondly, it is
pre-requisite for further study of mathematics, thirdly it is a crucial
component of mathematical literacy, fourthly it is an efficient way of solving
certain types of problems, finally, it promotes generalizations, organized thinking
and deductive reasoning which are keys to intellectual activities.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Mathematics in Nigeria education is a
core and compulsory subject, an important aspect of which is algebra. Although
teachers often teach students this
aspect of mathematics, researchers have shown that there is a low output in
terms of students performance in algebra (Ignacio, 2006). This indicates that
many students at SSS t level do not have a good grasp of the algebraic aspects
of mathematics.
According to Edgeton (2000), the
teaching of algebra is not allowed to grow out of direct experience and most
algebraic ideas are simply handed over
by the teacher than helping students to
discover them.
According to Okello 2010 and Parker,
(1999) most problems encountered by students include:
i.
Teachers inability to teach the
fundamentals of algebra i.e guides students to discover how generalizations in
algebra are derived.
ii.
The use of inappropriate methods in the
teaching of algebra.
iii.
Lack of motivation
iv.
Lack of practice
v.
Lazy students
vi.
Poor use of resources. These problems
need urgent attention and are likely to
affect our national development if not handled adequately.
1.3 PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to
investigate the difficulties encountered
by S.S.I students in solving Algebraic
problems in Surulere Local Education District of Lagos State, Nigeria.
The objectives of the study are to:
1.
Identify the difficulties that students
encounter in solving algebraic problem
at S.S. I level.
2.
Identify the various factors
contributing to the difficulties faced by students while solving algebraic problems.
3.
Assess student’s level of
performance in algebra S.S.I level in
the study population.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following
research questions were proposed for this study.
1.
What are the problems encountered by
students at SS1 level in solving algebraic problems?.
2.
What factors give rise to these
problems?
3.
What is the level of performance of
students in algebra in the study sample?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
This study will be particularly useful
to senior secondary school mathematics teachers as it will give them insight
into the problem faced by students at the
immediate higher level, hence they will be better equipped to groom their
students adequately.
It will be as well of benefit to
curriculum developers in time tabling and other administrative process
concerning this unique subject. It is also useful to S.S.S.I students so as to
identify the solution in solving problems algebra in senior secondary school.
1.6 SCOPE
AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The
Study covered Senior Secondary School selected from Surulere Local Government
Education District of Lagos State.
The
possible limitation to the study were financial and time constraints.
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