UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

INVESTIGATING INTO THE CAUSES OF PUPILS LACK OF INTEREST IN

MATHEMATICS AND ITS EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE

BOATENG RICHARD

BEP/AS/01/18/0250

2020

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 ABSTRACT

The study investigated the causes of pupil’s lack of interest in Mathematics and its effects

on Academic performance. The study revealed that the majority of students found

mathematics as naturally a difficult subject. This may reveal that the students have a fear

for mathematics. It was also discovered that students believed that the strictness in any

case affect their performance in mathematics. The study also revealed that teachers used

learning methods that students did not easily understand and ultimately unable to follow

when teaching mathematics. Some of the methods teachers used to teach mathematics do

not help students develop conceptual understanding of mathematics. Majority of the

teachers were not having enough potential to teach mathematics. Teachers who do not

have both the academic and the professional teacher qualification had a negative influence

on the teaching and learning of his/her subject and thus affected the performance. The

teacher quality characteristics such as, certification status and degree in subject to be taught

are very significant and positively correlated with subject outcomes in the performance of

student. It was recommended Teachers should assign home task to their children in order to

develop self-efficacy and sense of mastery in them and parents should give them proper time

and attention in order to understand their problems in mathematics in their actual essence.

Both teachers and parents should try to frank with the students in order to develop confidence

in them regarding to minimize the threat of becoming dull and passive in mathematics.

Furthermore, the teachers and parents should inculcate charming methods to enhance the

mathematical capabilities of the students so they can become best in mathematics.

2
 INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The term ‘Education’ originated from the Latin word ‘Educare’, which means ‘to

bring up’ or ‘to nourish’. Another Latin word ‘Educatum’ gave birth to the English term

‘Education’ (Oxfam, 2020). ‘Educatum’ means ‘the art of teaching’ or training. Oxford

dictionary defines education as, “a process of teaching, training, and learning, especially

in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills.” It is the action or process

of being educated. Most of us, when we think of education, we imagine a formal school,

with students learning subjects like Mathematics, English Literature, Social Studies,

Physics, Chemistry, or Biology. Mathematics is one of the important subjects among the

list of foundation subjects that constitutes the core curriculum for basic education. The

subject occupies a privileged position in the school curriculum because of the potential in

developing the aforementioned domains.

The importance of mathematics can be seen from its applicability in our daily life

activities and its role in science and technology. No other subject form a stronger building

force among various branches of science than mathematics, and without it, knowledge of

science often remains superficial (Moyer, 2009). This indicates that without a proper grasp

of the underlying principles in mathematics, the necessary skills and concepts in science

and technology cannot be acquired and applied by students. If the education structure

cannot have the requisite materials and technical know-how needed to contribute their

quota towards the development of Ghana and beyond, it will make the teaching of

mathematics difficult.

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 Activities for learning mathematics are very important. It encourages pupils in the

basic schools to remove the fear of mathematics from them by saying “after all,

mathematics is part of us and it involves things around us”. This is very possible if the

study of mathematics is made less stressful and becomes meaningful and relevant to those

who study in (Anku, 2008).

Although there has been educational review in Ghana, role learning in mathematics

is still encouraged. Teachers are using the lecture method in teaching at the basic level.

This has crippled the creative power of the child and thus making learning of mathematics

not interesting.

Statement of the Problem

Over the past few years, concerns have been raised about the pupil’s lack of

interest in mathematics and its effects on academic performance. According to the Kpe

(2018), The dream of 193,882 students getting into the various tertiary institutions in the

country was automatically shattered as a result of their failure in the West African Senior

School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Core Mathematics paper. The situation as

described implies that many of the candidates were not qualified to enter the next stage of

education and stand the risk of socio-economic vulnerabilities. The study seeks to the

investigate students lack of interest in Mathematics

Objectives of the Study

The study investigated the causes of pupil’s lack of interest in Mathematics and its

effects on Academic performance.

Specifically, this study will examine factors influencing pupils’ interest in the study

of mathematics.

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Significance of the Study

The study will expose factors that influences students’ interest in Mathematics as

a subject. The study will also be beneficial to stake holders such as school administrators,

policy makers and the ministry of education as the study will serve as a guide during policy

making.

Delimitation

Enu, Agyman, & Nkum (2015) conducted a study on Factors influencing Students'

Mathematics Performance in some selected schools in Ghana. They limited their scope to

some selected Schools.

Limitation

Enu, Agyman, & Nkum (2015) conducted a study on Factors influencing Students'

Mathematics Performance in some selected schools in Ghana and due to this I reviewed

their work. Since I will not gather and evaluate data, I will not be able to establish problems

they faced in 2015 moreover my findings cannot be presented since it will not match with

her data analysis.

Organisation of the Study

The entire study was organized into sections. Section one was the introduction

which consisted of the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the

study, significance of the study, limitation, delimitation and organization of the study.

Section two was the literature review. Section three contained results and discussions, the

summary, conclusion and recommendation.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

The Concept of Academic Performance

Academic achievement refers to a successful accomplishment or performance in a

particular subject area. It is indicated as by grades, marks and scores of descriptive

commentaries. Academic performance also refers to how students deal with their studies

and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers in a

fixed time or academic year (Dimbisso, 2009). The researcher focused on the achievement

in the form of aggregates in public examinations such as the Basic Education Certificate

Examination (BECE) in Ghana. Ferla, Martin and Yonghong (2009) use the notion of

academic self-concept referring to individuals' knowledge and perceptions about

themselves in academic achievements, and convictions that they can successfully perform

a given academic tasks at designated levels. They further stated that academic self-concept

represents a more past-oriented, aggregated and relatively stable judgment about one's self-

perceived ability in a particular academic domain; while academic self-efficacy represents

a context specific and relatively future oriented judgment about one's confidence for

successfully performing an upcoming subject-specific academic task.

The specific focus of this study is on low/poor academic performance or academic

failure. The concept of low academic performance varies in its definition. Diaz (2003)

considers low academic performance or academic failure as the situation in which the

subject does not attain the expected achievement according to his or her abilities, resulting

in an altered personality which affects all other aspects of life. Similarly, Diaz (2003) notes

that while the current educational system perceives that the student fails if he or she does

6
not pass, more appropriate for determining academic failure is whether the student

performs below his or her potential.

Factors influencing Academic Performance

Learning is not only a product of formal schooling but also of communities,

families and peers. Socio-economic and socio-cultural forces can affect learning and thus

school achievement (Rothstein, 2000). This section reviews theoretical and empirical

literature related to the respective specific objectives in this research: school-related

factors, teacher-side factors, pupil/student characteristics and home-based factors.

School Factors

Several school factors have generally been identified as determinants of academic

performance.

These include availability of instructional materials, effective supervision, class

size and pupil teacher ratios among others. According to Calhoun et al. (1994), students

usually perform better when they have books or study aids to foster their learning. These

study material resources could be inputs like textbooks, laboratories and libraries facilities.

The availability and use of teaching and learning materials (TLM) affect the effectiveness

of a teacher’s lessons.

Lack of facilities has been a major problem related to achieving quality in Ghana.

This is reflected in Gyekye’s (2003) comments on constraints that militate against

improving the output and quality of postgraduate students‟ performance below:

“Equipment in several of the labs of science departments are mostly obsolete. Chemicals

and other inputs needed for scientific experiments are insufficient. In such circumstances

it will be difficult to improve the quality of postgraduate output” (p. 25). Furthermore,

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schools with effective supervision of teaching and learning activities have high

performance rates. Neagley and Evans (1970) were of the view that effective supervision

of instructions can improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.

Teacher Factors

Some teacher factors which determine academic performance include; the quality

of teachers, levels of subject knowledge, teacher absenteeism and shortage of teachers. The

caliber of teachers greatly influences the teaching and learning processes of a school.

Agyeman (2005) reported that a teacher who does not have both the academic and the

professional teacher qualification would undoubtedly have a negative influence on the

teaching and learning of his/her subject. On teacher’s qualification, Darling–Hammond

(2000) found that teacher quality characteristics such as, certification status and degree in

subject to be taught are very significant and positively correlated with subject outcomes in

science and mathematics. Teacher quality depends not only on observable and stable

indicators but also on the quality of training they receive. It also depends on the behaviour

and the nature of the relationship teachers maintain with their pupils or students. The

potential indicators deal with such aspects as: academic qualification, ability or aptitude,

content knowledge, pedagogical training and years of service/experience. Additionally,

Abuseji (2007) found teacher’s qualification to be the second most potent causal effect on

student’s achievement in chemistry.

Home-Based Factors

Whether or not a child performs well in school can be influenced by a range of

household factors. These include socio-economic status (education, occupation and

income), size of the household, and the level of parental involvement and interest in child

8
schooling are all factors which affect performance in school. Level of education of parents

is the degree to which parents have acquired some knowledge, skills, attitudes and values

of informal and formal education. Ezewu (2002) found that educated parents provide

adequate learning materials for their children, which stimulate them to learn and perform

better in all subjects. These parents are concerned over their children’s

education/performance, which sometimes makes them coach their children themselves or

appoint part-time teachers for them. They send their children to the best nursery and

primary schools which serves as sure gateways to secondary and university education

which in turn leads to higher educational qualification to occupy higher positions in

societies. According to Sentamu (2003), the educational attainment of parents determines

the kind of schools to which their children go to. Such schools are near in kind to the ones

their parents attended. This tends to lay a foundation for better performance of their

children while at school. Considine and Zappala (2002) in their study in Australia on the

influence of education disadvantages in the academic performance of schools found that

families where parents are educated foster a higher level of achievement in their children

because of providing psychological support for their children. Family income, according

to Escarce (2003) has positive influence on the education opportunities available to

adolescence and on their chances of educational success. This is because richer parents are

able to take their children to high-cost schools that generally tend to perform academically

better.

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Pupils’ Perception towards Mathematics and their Academic Achievement

Perception of pupils can be influenced by the attitude of the teacher and his method

of teaching. Studies carried out Australia have shown that the teachers’ method of

mathematics teaching and his personality greatly account for the students’ positive

perception towards mathematics and that, without interest and personal effort in learning

mathematics by the students, they can hardly perform well in the subject (Bolaji, 2005;

Koul & Fisher, 2006). The results of a research conducted in some schools in Nigeria

showed that the pupils’ perceptions towards mathematics were positive and that many of

them believed that mathematics is a worthwhile and necessary subject which can help them

in their future career (Olatoye, 2002). It was recommended that the teacher should develop

positive relationship with students and stress classroom activities that involve active

teaching- learning process and pupils’ participation in the class. The research suggested

that stakeholders should organize periodic seminars and workshops for students, parents

and teachers designed to promote positive perceptions towards mathematics. Perception

towards mathematics denotes interest or feeling towards studying mathematics. It is the

students’ disposition towards ‘liking’ or ‘disliking’ mathematics while perception in

mathematics means scientific approach assumed by an individual for solving problems,

assessing ideas and making decisions.

Pupils’ Attitudes towards Mathematics

Shen and Pedulla (2002) in a study involving 957 pupils from grades 3 to 7 American

elementary school reported higher scores on attitude variables. Ma and Xu (2004)

conducted a study on pupils’ reactions to activities and different topics in mathematics. Ma

and Xu found that both basic and secondary school students considered mathematics to be

10
useful. Cooper (2007) observed that the social differences in mathematics participation

were associated with different attitudes and perceptions toward mathematics. Tricia (2001)

in an attempt to determine the opinion and feelings concerning mathematics and science

found that, 52 percent of males enjoyed being in the scientific field whilst 29 percent of

females said they would like a career pertaining to science. Besides, 50 percent of

elementary school boys against 33 percent of girls described themselves as good at

mathematics (Hanmer, cited in Tricia, 2001). Available data showed that students in

Glasgow at the basic school level found mathematics or regarded mathematics as one of

the most popular subjects (Alhmali 2007). It also appears from many more studies that

students dislike mathematics and that it becomes less favorable as students’ progress

through Junior High School to the College level (Hannula, 2002). This trend may be due

to the fact that through the high school to the college level students begin to make career

choices.

Conclusion

The study investigated the causes of pupil’s lack of interest in Mathematics and its

effects on Academic performance. The study revealed that the majority of students found

mathematics as naturally a difficult subject. This may reveal that the students have a fear

for mathematics. It was also discovered that students believed that the strictness in any

case affect their performance in mathematics. The study also revealed that teachers used

learning methods that students did not easily understand and ultimately unable to follow

when teaching mathematics. Some of the methods teachers used to teach mathematics do

not help students develop conceptual understanding of mathematics. Majority of the

teachers were not having enough potential to teach mathematics. Teachers who do not

11
have both the academic and the professional teacher qualification had a negative influence

on the teaching and learning of his/her subject and thus affected the performance. The

teacher quality characteristics such as, certification status and degree in subject to be taught

are very significant and positively correlated with subject outcomes in the performance of

student. Findings of the study also revealed that participants comprising mothers and

fathers felt that the students were not given keen and thorough attention to overcome their

difficulty in mathematics and were not assigned homework on regular basis that surely

enhances fundamental mathematical knowledge. The findings of the study also revealed

that most of the participants did not get enough support from their parents or guardians

when they were doing homework of mathematics. Home background and community

values can make effective learning that leads towards high achievements.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study and the conclusions drawn from them, the

following recommendations are being made. It is recommended Teachers should assign

home task to their children in order to develop self-efficacy and sense of mastery in them and

parents should give them proper time and attention in order to understand their problems in

mathematics in their actual essence. Both teachers and parents should try to frank with the

students in order to develop confidence in them regarding to minimize the threat of becoming

dull and passive in mathematics. Furthermore, the teachers and parents should inculcate

charming methods to enhance the mathematical capabilities of the students so they can

become best in mathematics.

The findings will help teachers as well as parents in treating the kids with a deep

sense of responsibility and child psychology. It will also be helpful for teachers and parents

12
in designing and reviewing their teaching patterns related to such children who have low

achievement in mathematics. Both will realize their important role in bringing out the inner

qualities and hidden talents of the children on the surface of success by making the subject

of mathematics interesting as well as understandable for the children.

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