ABSTRACT
This study investigated Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence as determinants of Mathematics achievement in Owerri Education Zone. Multiple prediction design was employed. The population of this study comprised of 17,637 Senior Secondary class two (SS2) students in Owerri Education Zone in Imo State. In this study, 391 participants were selected and a multi-stage random sampling technique was used to draw the participants. This sample size was based on Taro Yamane formula for determining sample size from a definite population. Four different instruments were used. (i) Self-Concept Questionnaire (SCQ) (ii) Peer-Influence Questionnaire (PIQ) (iii) Attitudinal Scale (AS) and (iv) Proforma. The Cronbach Alpha reliability techniques calculated yielded reliability coefficients of 0.87, 0.78 and 0.71 for SCQ, PIQ and AS respectively. The data collected were analyzed using Multiple Regression Analysis and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Co-efficient with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The findings revealed that Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence related positively with Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics. Attitude significantly determines Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics. Self-Concept and Peer-Influence insignificantly determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics. Thus, Self-Concept and Peer-Influence determined poorly to the variance observed in Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics. However, Attitude is the best determinant variable to Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics, while Peer-Influence is the least determinant variable. More so, Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence jointly accounted for only about 1.7% of the variance observed in Mathematics achievement scores of students. It was recommended among others that students should develop positive Attitude towards mathematics, have a firm believe in themselves and adopt healthy Peer-relation so as to increase their Mathematics achievement.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Appendices x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 12
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 13
1.4 Research
Questions 14
1.5 Hypotheses 14
1.6 Significance
of the Study 15
1.7 Scope
of the Study 17
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 18
2.1 Conceptual
Framework 18
2.1.1 Mathematics and its usefulness 18
2.1.2 Self-concept 21
2.1.3 Attitude 22
2.1.4 Peer-influence 24
2.1.5 Concept of gender 24
2.1.6 Academic achievement 25
2.2 Theoretical
Framework 27
2.2.1 Social cognitive theory 27
2.2.2 Attribution theory 28
2.3 Empirical
Framework 30
2.4 Summary
of Related Literature Review 38
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 40
3.1 Research
Design 40
3.2 Area
of the Study 40
3.3 Population
of the Study 41
3.4 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 42
3.5 Instrument
for Data Collection 42
3.6 Validation
of the Instruments 43
3.7 Reliability
of the instruments 43
3.8 Method
of Data Collection 43
3.9 Method
of Data Analysis 45
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION 45
4.1 Results 45
4.2 Testing
of Hypotheses 49
4.3 Major
Findings of the Study 53
4.4 Discussion
of the Findings 54
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 59
5.1 Summary of the Study 59
5.2 Conclusion 61
5.3 Recommendations 61
5.4 Educational Implication of the Study 61
5.5 Limitations of the Study 62
5.6 Suggestions for Further Study 64
REFERENCES 65
APPENDICES 70
LIST OF TABLES
4.1.1 Correlation
Matrix Among the Variables 45
4.1.2 Simple
Regression Result on Students’ Self-Concept and Students’
Academic Achievement in
Mathematics 46
4.1.3 Simple
Regression Result on Students’ Attitude and Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics 46
4.1.4 Simple
Regression Result on Students’ Peer-Influence and Students’
Academic Achievement in Mathematics 47
4.1.5 Relative
Determining Powers of the Independent Variables for
Male Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics 47
4.1.6 Relative
Determining Powers of the Independent Variables for
Female Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics 48
4.1.7 Joint Determining Powers of the Independent
Variables to Students’ Academic Achievement in
Mathematics 48
4.2.1 Significant
Determinant of Self-Concept to Students’ Academic
Achievement in Mathematics 49
4.2.2 Significant
Determinant of Attitude to Students’ Academic Achievement
in Mathematics 50
4.2.3 Significant
Determinant of Peer-Influence to Students’ Academic
Achievement in Mathematics 50
4.2.4 Summary
of the Multiple Regression Analysis for Male Students’
Academic Achievement in Mathematics 51
4.2.5 Summary
of the Multiple Regression Analysis for Female Students’
Academic Achievement in Mathematics 52
4.2.6 Multiple
Regression Analysis for Joint Determinant of the three
Variables to Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics 53
LIST OF
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Percentage of
Students in Nigeria from 2000-2016 70
Appendix
B: Population Distribution 71
Appendix
C: Sample size determination 72
Appendix
D: Sample Distribution 73
Appendix E: Instrument for
Data Collection 74
Appendix F: Reliability of
Instrument 77
Appendix G: Validate I 79
Appendix H: Validate II 80
Appendix I: Validate
III
81
Appendix J: Data
Collection and Analysis 82
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Mathematics
is the science of quantity and space. Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2014) defined it
as the abstract study of topics such as quantity (numbers), structure, space
and change. It is a creation of the human mind, concerned primarily with ideas,
processes and reasoning. Mathematics can be seen as a body of knowledge, a
collection of techniques and methods, the product of human activity, and even
as the activity itself. According to Wilson (2013), Mathematics has aptly been
described as the true language of science. Nwagbara (2015) described Mathematics
as the universal language that acts across cultures and uses carefully defined
terms and concise symbolic representations to add precision to communication.
The researcher therefore describes Mathematics as the language that controls
the whole world. This is so because it cuts across all endeavour of life
activities of humanity. Furthermore, the researcher likened Mathematics to a
musical instrument in which one can play a variety of beautiful melodies. The
beautiful melodies are the knowledge of sciences and technologies and in
particular the Mathematics applications to the development of the society.
Ideally,
no nation can develop without integrating mathematics properly into her national
life. This is because Mathematics is the springboard for technological and
overall national development. The gap between developing countries, such as
Ethiopia and Nigeria, and the developed countries, such as America, Canada and
Britain, is simply an outcome of the gap in the study of mathematics in favour
of developed countries (Unodiaku, 2012). These assertions suggested that Mathematics
is a very important subject.
The
importance of Mathematics cannot be over emphasized. Mathematics is a core
school subject, at the primary and secondary schools that have found
application in the social, political, scientific and technological development
of the countries of the world. Application of Mathematics originated from the
creation of man. Mathematics is needed by man for day-to-day planning and
execution of most social, technological and scientific activities. The
researcher viewed Mathematics as the queen, bedrock and life wire of science
and technology. The researcher also confirmed this notion as there is no aspect
of human life that does not require the application of Mathematics in one way
or the other.
Concepts
in Mathematics have had much direct impact on people’s way of life. In the
National Policy on Education, Mathematics is one of the core subjects to be
offered by all pupils and students in primary and secondary levels of Education
(FRN, 2013). The compulsory nature of Mathematics carries with it the
assumption that the knowledge of the subject is essential for all members of
the society. In Nigerian Senior Secondary School Mathematics Curriculum, the
Mathematical concepts are developed and structured around four major concepts;
Numbers and Numerations, Algebraic Processes, Geometry and Everyday Statistics
(Jonah, Caleb & Stephen, 2012).
With
the knowledge of numbers and numerations simple computations can easily be
carried out ranging on how to the use “ready reckoners” and calculators in
buying and selling of goods. It helps to recognize and describe the population
of a Nation, State, Local Government Area, Town, Clan or Family. In Algebraic
Processes through the use of clock the concept of time can be understood. The
clock indicates the time to wake up in the morning and prepare for school, have
specific lessons, have recess and so on.
In chemistry the concept of ratio and proportion has wide range of
application especially in the balancing of chemical equations and mass-volume
relationship. The use of chemical for either weed or pest control require a
good knowledge of ratio in mixing the chemical. Small and large businesses
thrive by using linear programming in minimizing cost and maximizing profit.
Most buildings are constructed using the knowledge of geometry such as
Pythagoras theorem, measurement of angles and line segments. The marking and
construction of play fields for football, basketball, hockey, shot-put and so
on require the knowledge of geometry. In economics, sciences, technologies,
industries, etc. the concept of variation (direct, indirect, joint and partial
variations) are widely applied as useful tools. A tailor uses the knowledge of
direct variation in charging his customers. The more the time he spends in
designing the cloth the more amount of money the customer will pay. Similarly,
indirect variation is gainfully applied in teaching of population education.
For instance, the larger the population of a family, the less attention or care
is given to member. Partial variation is also used to determine the total cost
of electric bill in the schools, homes and industries. The Enugu Electricity
Distribution Company (EEDC) uses the concept of partial variation to EEDC bill
per month. The costs of servicing the meter is usually constant or fixed while the
costs of consuming the electric current by customers partly varies. Government
uses statistics to know the population of teachers and students needed in a
particular school. Probability is used in predicting the outcome of an election
or possibility of winning the war or football match. Weather forecasting can be
easily known through probability. Honestly, the applications of Mathematics in
everyday life of human beings are many and cannot be exhausted. In teaching and
learning of Mathematics, if the applications of mathematics are used
appropriately, it will encourage students to develop interest, have positive
attitude towards the learning Mathematics.
According
to Wilson (2013), most of people understates the extent to which most modern
scientists do depend on Mathematics. In modern research, both natural and
social sciences involve the use of statistical techniques for analyzing data.
No wonder Nwagbara, Bassy and Enun (2013) opined that where there is no Mathematics,
there is no science, where there no science there is no technology, and the
absence of technology implies absence of development that ushers in
socio-economic transformation. It may be in consideration of these vital contributions
of Mathematics to national development that Nigerian government made its study
compulsory at all levels of primary and secondary school system of education in
the country as indicated in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2014).
Despite
the importance of Mathematics, it is very disappointing to note that students’
performance in the subject at both internal and external examinations has
remained consistently poor. Also, statistics have shown that mass failure in Mathematics
examination is real and the trend of students’ performance has been on the
decline (Betiku, 2012; WAEC, 20016; NECO, 2016). Observations and reports from
West African Examination Council Chief Examiners revealed that Secondary School
Students continue to perform poorly in Mathematics examinations year after
year. The West African Senior Secondary School CE (WASSCE) May/June results
from 2000-2016 revealed that an average of thirty-five percent (35%) of
students passed Mathematics at credit level, while the remaining sixty-five
percent (65%) obtained pass or failure on the subject (see Appendix A). This
goes further to show that students’ achievement in external examination in Mathematics
has been low consistently year after year.
Many
variables had been identified as responsible for the poor performance of
students in Mathematics. Variables identified include; Governments, Curriculum,
Examination bodies, Teachers, Students, Home, and Textbook among others.
According to Okigbo (2010), government failed in training and recruiting of more
qualified Mathematics teachers which have led to not meeting the required
number of teacher/student ratio of 1:20 in teaching and learning of Mathematics
in most of public schools in Nigeria today. The problem has been complicated by
some of the available few Mathematics teachers who give the students impression
that Mathematics is meant for special people. Sometimes individuals may say
that Mathematics can make one mad. More so, some other specific variables have
been identified by Udeinya and Okabiah (2011) and Amazigo (2010) to include:
poor primary school background in Mathematics, lack of interest on the part of
the students, lack of incentives for the teachers, incompetent teachers in
primary schools, students not interested in hard work, perception that Mathematics
is difficult, large class size syndrome, psychological fear of the subject,
poor methods of teaching, and lack of qualified Mathematics teachers, which
results in teaching of the subject by unqualified, untrained and inexperienced
auxiliary teachers. In agreement with them, the researcher personally observed
that other factors like school calendar, improper placement of students and use
of phones in the school can also cause poor performance of students in
Mathematics. In secondary school calendar
there are three terms; namely 1st term that runs from September to December,
2nd term that runs from January to April and the 3rd term that runs from late
April to July. Nigeria as a nation with many ethnic groups, due to too much
national holiday’s school calendar is seriously affected. Students and teachers
find it difficult to cover the school scheme of work. Most at times some topics
are skipped in other to meet up with the small time left for teaching and
learning Mathematics. Posting of students to new class that the student does
not merit affects his or her academic ability. Students coming to school with
phones share their time of reading and solving problems in Mathematics with
browsing of what may not encourage them in their studies.
The
student’ poor achievement in Mathematics also emanated from anxiety and fear of
the subject. Phobia has been observed by Aprebo (2012) to be an academic
disease whose virus has not yet been fully diagnosed for an effective treatment
in the class and the symptoms of this phobia are usually expressed on the faces
of Mathematics students in their classes. The researcher further pointed out
that the final output of this fear is spread to all subjects that relate to Mathematics
and this may result to learners’ inability to improve their interest in Mathematics
thereby leading to poor achievement in the subject. The WAEC Chief Examiner’s
Report (2016) suggested that students’ performance in Mathematics could be
improved through meaningful and proper teaching. According to the report,
teachers should help students develop interest in Mathematics by reducing the
abstractness of Mathematics, and thence remove their apathy and fears of the
subject. Thus it becomes pertinent to look for personality variables that could
be manipulated in order to find their effects on learning outcomes. This could
address the problems of teaching and learning of Mathematics in schools. Based
on this, the researcher examines personality factors that contributes to academic
achievement such as are Self-Concept, Peer- Influence and Attitude.
A
learner’s Attitude relates to all the factors of his education. According to
Odufuye (2005), the Attitude of a learner towards Mathematics will determine
the measure of the learner’s attractiveness or repulsiveness to Mathematics.
This invariably, will influence the learner’s choice and even, achievement in
that subject. Olaosebikan (2005) in his study on Attitude of students towards Mathematics
stated that Attitudes are related to the achievement and enrolment in the subject.
According to him, poor Attitude, leads to poor achievement and poor achievement
leads to not offering the subject. It follows therefore, that in order to have
better students’ performance in Mathematics, there is need to motivate them to
have positive attitude towards the subject. This is supported by the finding of
Adebowale (2010) who stated that, students’ lack of interest in Mathematics
makes it difficult for teachers to impart pertinent knowledge to them on the
subject. Research findings by Aghenta (2012) and Soyibo (2015) revealed that Nigerian
students have negative Attitude towards science and for those who have chosen
to study science subjects. Medahunsi (2015) and Ezezobor (2016) among others,
observed that their performance in Mathematics and science has been poor and
found significant relationships between Attitude to a subject and achievement
in that subject. Similarly, Akinola (2013) stressed that Attitude has a greater
influence on aspects of learning which are emphasized in the classroom. Dulton
(2014) concurred that attitudes are related to academic performance when
measured on promotion grades.
More
so, Bandura (2001) opined that Attitude is often used in conjunction with
motivation to achieve. It is how well people judge themselves to perform a task
successfully. Moreover, extensive evidence and documentation were provided for
the conclusion that Attitude is a key factor in the extent to which people can
bring about significant outcomes in their lives. In a more objective term, Attitude
may be said to connote response consistency with regards to certain categories
of stimuli (Anastasi, 2010). He said further that in actual practice, attitude
has been most frequently associated with emotionally toned responses (Anastasi,
2010). Zimbardo and Leippe (2011) defined Attitude as favorable or unfavorable
evaluative reasons whether exhibited in beliefs, feelings, or inclinations to
act towards something. According to Myres in Akinola (2013), attitude is
commonly referred to as beliefs and feelings related to a person or event and
their resulting behaviour. This means that when individuals have to respond
quickly to something, the feeling can guide the way they react. Psychologists
like Greenwald, McGhee and Schwarts in Dulton (2014) agree that knowing
people’s Attitude is to predict their actions. Attitude involves evaluations.
According to them, attitude is an association between an object and our
evaluation of it. When this association is strong, the attitude becomes
accessible. Encountering the object calls up the associated evaluation towards
it. They said further that one acquires attitude in a manner that makes one
sometimes potent, sometimes not. For this reason, they concluded that Attitudes
predict actions if other influences such as self-efficacy, motivation and
self-Concept are minimized. In the context of this study, Attitude would mean students’
views and feelings towards mathematics learning and their resulting behaviour. Self-Concept
is another variable associated with Attitude.
The
study of Self-Concept has awakened growing interest in psychological research
in recent years. Self-Concept, according to Hamachek cited in Machargo (2014),
is the set of perceptions or reference points that the subject has about
himself/herself; the set of characteristics, attributes, qualities and
deficiencies, capacities and limits, values and relationships that the person
knows to be descriptive of himself/herself, and which he/she perceives as data
concerning his/her identity. The author
further explained that it is a set of knowledge and attitudes that one has
about himself/herself; the perceptions that the individual assigns to himself/herself
and characteristics or attributes that are used in describing one’s self. It is
understood to be fundamentally a descriptive assessment and has a cognitive
nuance.
The
importance of Self-Concept stems from its notable contribution to personality
formations. Self-Concept has to do with social competence since it influences
how a person feels, how he or she thinks, learns, values himself or herself,
relates to others, and ultimately, how he or she behaves (Clark, Clemes &
Bean; 2010). Bryne (2014) noted that much of the interest in the relationship
between Self-Concept and achievement stems from the belief that academic Self-Concept
have motivational properties such that changes in academic Self-Concept will
lead to changes in subsequent academic achievement. Marsh (2010) submitted that
in reality, the relationship between Self-Concept and academic achievement is
likely to be reciprocal, that is, prior academic achievement affects subsequent
academic self-concept and prior academic Self-Concept also affects academic
achievement. It follows therefore, that if an individual has a negative
attitude towards a particular subject, as a result of low Self-Concept, the
individual will have low level of confidence to study and achieve better in the
subject. The perception of one Self-Concept has been found to influence the
attitude, learning and performance in a subject. According to Harter (2008), Self-Concept
is a characteristic way of thinking, feeling and behaving about oneself. It may
embrace attitudes, one’s own interest area or opinions that affect the way we deal
with different situations. The researcher said further that it is important for
students to have a good understanding of themselves and their personality, if
they are to make intelligent career plans. What they would like to be is a
determining factor in Self-Concept.
The
Self-Concept factors to be considered include their mental abilities, special
abilities and interest. Pajares (2007) considered factors of mental abilities
to be verbal comprehension, word fluency ability, spatial ability, numerical
ability, reasoning ability and memory. He matched careers with abilities in
backing up his reasoning and urged students to become familiar with their
personality and self-concept in order to guide their career choice. According
to him, a developed career plan included evaluation of personality through
Self-Concept, self-assessment and communication with others. According to
Wigfield and Eccles (2010), Self-Concept is shown to be a domain with many
pathways. In this domain, there are numerous career clusters as well as career
clashers that coincide with abilities. Dekrefflin (2013) found that individual
learners who have higher self-concept aim more at success in academics than
those with low Self-Concept. He also found that students with low Self-Concept
maintain a low level of confidence, negative self-perception and low level of
performance.
Self-Concept
is also defined in this context as the collection or impressions a student made
about his/her appearance. These impressions form the cognition or the
understanding in dealing with persons or things. Thus, what makes up the
cognitive map or Self-Concept may not be fully known. Everyone shares some
factors or constructs. These constructs are self-concept traits that become
valuable when choosing a career. The environments, such as our formal education
has played a major role in the formation of constructs. Organizations of
personality or self-concept constructs are evidence in three situations. First,
the individual sees the factors that could potentially change personality.
Second, only certain environmental factors impinge upon the individual. These
environmental factors enter into the ideas that the individual has had about
themselves. Third, of all the factors that enter into the cognizance, only a
few are perceived, and even those may be distorted or altered to fit the
requirements needed to fulfill the comfort limits of our reality. One of these
factors is peer-influence.
Peer
is a person who has equal standing with another or others (Siegler, 2010).
Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2012) defined peer group as a group of people who,
through homophile, share similarities such as age, background and social status
(Siegler, 2010). Influence is the power to affect the way someone or something
develops, behaves or thinks without using direct force or orders. Peer-Influence
is used in this research as the pressure people of equal standing; age group,
classmate or people of the same character exert on member of the same group. Peers
are likely to influence one another’s beliefs and behaviour. Vygotsky (2005) in
his theory on sociocultural influence which focuses on the importance of
child’s culture in the society notes that a child is continually acting in
accordance with the level of his or her social interaction with others. Despite
this background, researchers still contend the effect of peer influence on
academic achievement. Salleh (2011) asserted that students were not negatively
influenced by their peers in decision- making but that peer gives positive
influence on their achievement in academics and make them differentiate between
wrong and right. Adeyemo and Torubelu (2008) said positive peer relations was
effective in predicting students’ academic performance. In a study on Peer-Influence,
pupils’ interest in schooling and academic achievement, Adika and Toyobo (2007)
reported that both Peer-Influence and pupils’ interest correlate significantly
with academic achievement. According to Burke and Sass (2008), peer effect depends
on students’ ability and on the ability of the peers under consideration. Peer
effect tends to have smaller impact when teacher-related factors are included;
a result that suggests significant combined influence of peer and teacher
quality on students’ behaviour. Peer effect tends to be strong at the classroom
level than the grade level (Burke & Sass, 2008). Oloyede and Olatoye (2015)
reported that there was no significant relationship between Peer-Influence and
study habit; Peer-Influence did not predict study habit; Pee-Influence
accounted for 0.0% of the total variance in adolescents’ study habits; there
was no significant difference between male and female adolescents both in the
levels of Peer-Influence and study habit.
Although
Mathematics is recognized as abstract subject that can easily be learnt by male
students only, literature (Ezenwa, 2010) had shown that Mathematics is more of
cognitive activities which could be influenced by gender. Gender according to
Pollard and Morgan (2002) refers to the socially constructed expectation for
male and female behaviour which prescribes a division of labour and
responsibilities between males and females granting of different rights and
obligation to them. Such activities like problem solving, critical thinking,
logical reasoning, analysis of data and so on are always attributed to males
than females. Personality variables such
as the consideration of Self-Concept, Peer-Influence and Attitude in teaching
could help to enhance Mathematics learning, appreciation and achievement
irrespective of gender. Hence the study intends to investigate the extent to
which students’ Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence determine the
Mathematics achievement of Secondary School Students.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Observations
and reports from examining bodies revealed that a high percentage of secondary
school students continue to perform poorly in Mathematics examinations. This
poor performance continues to generate much concern among parents, teachers,
students and other stakeholders in the education sector. Due to the poor
results in Mathematics, many learners have developed phobia for the subject
which makes them to fail even in classroom Mathematics test. For students to be
able to acquire Mathematics skills, concepts and processes effectively, they
have to develop self-concept, healthy peer-influence and positive attitudes
toward Mathematics. The alarming poor performance of students in Mathematics is
a dangerous situation that could breed unrest and youth restiveness in the
Owerri Education Zone. Several studies carried out in Nigeria identified among
others students’ self-concept, peer-influence and attitude towards Mathematics
as principal factors for poor performance in the subject and this could
constitute problem to the attainment of science and technological skills among
the ever increasing youth population. It is however, not yet established
whether the poor performance of the students in Owerri Education Zone, is related to Mathematics
Self-Concept, Peer-Influence and Attitude of secondary school students in the
zone. It is on this basis that the study was carried out.
1.3 PURPOSE OF
THE STUDY
The main purpose of the study was to
investigate self-concept, attitude and peer-influence as determinants of mathematics
achievement in Owerri Education Zone. Specifically, the study sought to
determine:
1. The relationship among the three
determinant variables (Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence) and Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
2. The extent to which Students’ Self-Concept determine Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
3. The extent to which Students’ Attitude determine Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
4. The extent to which Students’ Peer-Influence determine
Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
5. The extent to which Self-Concept, Attitude and
Peer-Influence determine Male Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
6. The extent to which Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence determine Female Students’ Academic Achievement
scores in Mathematics.
7. The joint determinant value of the
three variables (Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence) and Students’ Academic
Achievement scores in Mathematics.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The following research questions
guided the study:
1. What is the relationship between the
three determinant variables (Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence) and Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics?
2. To what extent do Students’ Self-Concept
determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics?
3. To what extent do Students’ Attitude
determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics?
4. To what extent do Students’ Peer-Influence
determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics?
5. To what extent do Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence determine Male Students’ Academic Achievement
scores in Mathematics?
6. To what extent do Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence determine Female Students’ Academic Achievement
scores in Mathematics?
7. What is the joint determinant value
of the three variables (Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence) and Academic?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following null hypotheses (HO)
were formed for the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance:
HO1 Self-Concept
does not significantly determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in
Mathematics.
HO2 Students’
Attitude does not significantly determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores
in Mathematics.
HO3 Peer-influence
does not significantly determine Students’ Academic Achievement scores in
Mathematics.
HO4 Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence do not significantly determine Male Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
HO5 Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence do not significantly determine Female Students’
Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
HO6 There
is no significant joint determinant of the three variables (Self-Concept, Attitude
and Peer-Influence) and Students’ Academic Achievement scores in Mathematics.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
It is hoped that the findings from this study
would benefit the Mathematics Teachers, Students, Curriculum Planners, Researchers and the Government. The
study might help the Mathematics teachers in
Mathematics teaching. This is because the Mathematics teachers might effectively incorporate Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence to the
teaching of Mathematics. This could help the teachers to re-position their
teaching strategies to increase the
Self-Concept, positive Attitude and Peer-Influence of the students for
better enhancement of their Mathematics learning.
The findings of this study might help the students to
remove some of the social apathy towards Mathematics and know that their
achievement on the subject depends on Self-Concept,
Attitude and Peer-Influence. Thus, the students might appreciate the need for Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence in Mathematics
learning in their classrooms and this
may help them to acquire both Mathematics skills and Mathematics achievement. Also, it would enable the students to
contribute to national goals for Mathematics
education.
The findings of the study might be beneficial to curriculum
planners. They can apply the knowledge of the
concepts (Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence) when reviewing Mathematics curriculum. Thus the
curriculum planners can now incorporate/entrench the concepts
when reviewing Mathematics curriculum for teachers to use or sensitization
while teaching the students. Also, the goals of the curriculum planners might be re-directed towards more
on acquisition of high self-concept, attitude as well as peer-influence
in Mathematics than on acquisition of knowledge. The curriculum planners might also benefit from this study by making adjustment in teacher
education programmes in Mathematics in such a way that Self-Concept, Attitude,
Peer-Influence and achievement should be emphasized in relevant educational
institutions.
Furthermore, researchers in Mathematics
education might equally benefit from the findings of this study by using it as a stepping-stone for further
studies in Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence. In essence, this work
when published could serve as reference material for future researchers
in the elated area.
The
Government might benefit from the findings of this study because it might enable them to understand the extent of relationship among the three variables in
the students' achievement in Mathematics
and design appropriate intervention probably in form of workshops seminars and conferences for both
students and teachers and possibly for parents/guardians and stakeholders in
Education. It might also be
beneficial to Government education agency to design suitable instructional strategies that might enhance the learners’ achievement in Mathematics.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE
STUDY
This study is delimited to
Self-Concept, Attitude and Peer-Influence as determinants of Mathematics achievement among Senior Secondary School
two (SSII) Students in Owerri Education Zone of Imo State.
The SSII level was chosen
because students at this level have spent five years in the school system. They
also have learnt more Mathematics
concepts than SS1 students and are not faced with external examination
distraction which may lead them not to have time for drill and practice or any
further demonstrations.
There
are many factors which may be contributing
to poor achievement in Mathematics in schools but this study is delimited to
only students' Self-Concept, Attitude and
Peer-Influence (independent variables) as the determinant factor to students’
academic achievement (dependent variable) in Mathematics.
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