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STUDENTS’
PERCEPTION ON THE CAUSES OF POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Mathematics
is an old broad and deep discipline. Mathematics as a formal area of teaching
and learning was developed about five thousand years ago by the Sumerians. They
did it at the same time as they developed reading and writing. However, the
root of Mathematics goes back much more than 5,000 years. Mathematics is said
to be queen of science, Adekoya Olusegun (2009) quoting Adekoya, reveals that
mathematics is the cream of all disciplines, whether in the social or human
mind, since it concerns honorably with idea, prove and reasoning.
Mathematics
is used throughout the world as essential tools in many fields, including
natural science, engineering, medicine and the social sciences. Mathematics is
the science of size and number of which Arithmetic, Algorithm, Trigonometric
and Geometric are branches. It is an age-long subject and forms the backbone of
any school curriculum. The reason for teaching any subject is to have value and
objective for which it is planned, that can afford to omit mathematics.
History of
Mathematics
The study of
Mathematics as a subject in the own right began in the 6th century BC with the
Pythagoreans, who coined the term mathematics from the ancient Greek
(“mathema”) meaning subject of instruction. Greek mathematics greatly refined
the methods (especially through the introduction of deductive reasoning and
mathematics proofs) and expanded the subject matter of mathematics. Chinese
mathematics made early contributions including a place value system. The
Hindu-Arabic numeral system and the rules for the use of its operation, in use
throughout the world today; likely evolved over the course of the first
millennium A.D in India and was transmitted to the west via Islamic
Mathematics. Islamic mathematics was in turn developed and expanded the
mathematics known to civilization. Many Greek and Arabic texts on mathematics
were then translated into lactic which led to further development of mathematics
in Medieval Europe.
From ancient
times through the Middle Ages, burst of mathematics creativity were often
followed by centuries of stagnation. Beginning in renaissance Italy in the 16th
century, new mathematics developments, interacting with new scientific
discoveries, were made at an increasing pace that continues through the present
day (Selin Helaine D. Ainbriosio, Liberation 2009).
Mathematics
is a way of describing relationship between number and other measurable
qualities. Mathematics can express simple particles and the farthest object in
the known universe. Mathematics allows scientist to communicate ideas using
universe accepted terminology. It is truly the language of science.
Until the
17th century, arithmetic, algebra and geometric were the only mathematics
disciplines, and mathematics was virtually indisguishable from science and
philosophy. Development by the ancient Greek, these systems for investigating
the world were preserved by Islamic scholar and passed on by Christian’s monks
during the middle ages. Mathematics finally became a field in a own right with
the development of calculus by English Mathematician Isaac Newton and German
philosopher and mathematician Augustin Louis Cauch and his contemporaries.
Until the late 19th century, however mathematics was used mainly by physicists,
chemist and engineers (Encarta 2009).
Mathematics
forms an important and unique part of knowledge as a whole; we might describe
it as part of our cultural heritage dating from early times when there was often
little practical use for what was studied and continuing to its present
position on the basis on which our scientific and technical knowledge has been
built.
Despite the
uniqueness and important of the subject, many student still fail the subject.
“The differential scholastic achievement of students in Nigeria has been and is
still a source of concern and research interest to educators, government and
parents. This is so because of the great importance that education has on the
national development of the country” (Asikhia O.A, 2010). Parents, Teacher and
the government are of the opinion that the huge investment on education is not
yielding the desired result. Students perform poorly at both internal and
external examinations.
Asikhia
(2010) quoting Aremu define poor academic performance as a performance that is
adjudged by the examinee/testee and some other significance as falling below an
expected standard. Poor academic performance has been observed in school
subjects especially Mathematics and English among secondary school students.
Students in
Tertiary institution have different perceptions about why they perform poorly
in mathematics. One of such reason is the lecture’s method of teaching. The
means or strategies employed by the lecturer’s to impact knowledge to the
students are very important. Many lecturers do not really care whether the
students understand what is being taught or not. All they are interested in is
getting through with the course outline on time. Since he is not interested on
whether the students understand the concept, the student may end up not
assimilating which will eventually lead to failure (Akinade E. T 2009).
The
inability of student to thoroughly revise their notes and books after lessons
has constituted to the glaring failure in mathematics at all levels of
education. The conditions and situation on campuses make it difficult for many
students to remember that the revision of specific lessons taught in the class
is necessary for a better understanding of the content of instruction. No
sincere student will deny the fact that various distractions on campuses are
responsible for diversion of attention of many students toward the activities
which do not lend help to improvement in discipline such as mathematics. The
result is lack of preparation and its attendant tension towards attempting
questions especially in examination halls. This lack of preparation is depicted
in what Chukwu George (2008) in a project termed lack of readiness according to
Uche Azikwe that, “Good reading (studying) calls for a strong interest in and a
purpose for reading.”
Students are
aware of the fact that they fail in examination due to late preparation. This
scenario is very much applicable to first year students who are easily carried
away by personal freedom offered in tertiary institutions and tend to forget
that their primary purpose is to pay attention to their studies. Unnecessary visits,
telephone browsing, pinging, live chats on internet and social gathering on
special occasions are some of the numerous activities which keep students busy
while they neglect their studies. Studying becomes tiresome at the end of such
activities and when they eventually get to their hostels, they quickly doze
off. As examination approaches, these sets of students realize that they have
not studied their books and subsequently embark on studies when it is almost
late. Consequence, they fail woefully due to late preparation. Kwaku Sakyi-
Danso (2008) summed it up with the following words.
“But I would
say modernization is also compounding this problem. Instead of reading, the
youth want to be jamming out there”.
According to
Babatunde Olaosebikan (2008), “Africa used to have good reading culture until
the advent of home video which has taken over reading.” The advent of internet
and its corresponding social networks have very much compounded the problem
under study. Rufai (2005) stated “most students read when on the internet.”
This sad situation has made it difficult for some students to read their
textbooks instead of sitting in front of system surfing the net if invested in
reading or studying of books could go a long way in determining the performance
of students in mathematics.
Third world
countries are rated backward, poor and under developed and it is obvious in
Nigeria that the standard of living of many homes is low and pathetic. In a
survey conducted by the BBC on Africa, Alagbo M (2005) argued that “parents
struggle to pay their children school fees. Make provisions but in the area of
materials they find it difficult if not totally impossible.” And if parents go
through this stress, how much more the students themselves? Most students in
tertiary institutions find it difficult to feed adequately, let alone have
enough to provide for themselves with relevant books for a more intensive study
of their area of discipline. It is true that a student should be able to do
considerably well in his field of study but looking at the exorbitant cost of
many mathematics textbooks, who would blame the students? The students in this
situation cannot help encountering problems in term of academic performance in
their relevant fields.
The scenario
is best described in the words of Kapinga Ntumba (2008):
“Don’t we
say an empty stomach has no ears? Is it really possible to concentrate on
reading when my stomach is still requesting for something to fill it? In Africa
we first have to overcome the problem of hunger before we can concentrate on
other things. This has nothing to do with culture, but we do prioritize, and
food comes first.”
Asikhia O. A
(2010) noted that there is consistent failure of the subject at secondary
school level. Many students have lost so much interest in the subject. They
believe they can never perform well in the subject. Hence many students seemed
not to be interested in the subject. How can you perform well in a subject you
are interested in? Loss of interest in a subject will prevent the students from
understanding what is being taught which will eventually leads to failure.
Adebanjo B.
A. (2009) quoted Eggen and Kauchack that teacher positive characteristics are
fundamentals to effective teaching. Teachers or lecturers should understand
that cordial relationship with students influences their level of performance
in the course of study. When the lecturers, and makes the lecturers
approachable. Various scholars such as Thomas G in Teacher Effective Training
(TET) model have written on ways by which the teacher can improve and establish
positive relationship with students.
In
conclusion, the perception of students on the causes of poor academic
performance is all-embracing. It cuts across the attitude of stakeholders in
education. In as much as various factors have been attributed to lecturers and
the school environment, yet students who offer Mathematics Poor academic
performance in elementary mathematics, as discussed above, is a combination of
many factors such as teacher’s method of teaching, lack of revision, late
preparation, inadequate facilities, advent of internet, low standard of living,
loss of interest as a result of the level of difficulty and repeated failures.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. The inability of student to revise
their notebooks after lecture hours goes a long way to affect their performance
in elementary mathematics.
2. Reading for examination purposes alone
contributes to low performance of students in the field of Mathematics.
3. Influence of internet as distraction is
a major factor on low performance of students in elementary mathematics.
4. Attitude and methodology of lecturers
are key factors of poor performance in elementary mathematics.
5. Poor and inadequate educational
facilities are determining factors of performance in elementary mathematics.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The research
work is based on investigating and discovering the factors responsible for the
poor performance in elementary mathematics from the perception of students in
Tertiary Institutions.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Does the inability of students revise
their notes after lecture hours affect their academic performance in elementary
mathematics?
2. Is reading for examination purposes
alone a contributing factor to poor academic performance in elementary
mathematics?
3. Are the internet and social networks
major factors of poor academic performance in elementary mathematics?
4. Do teacher attitude and methodology
exert an influence on the performance of students in elementary mathematics?
5. Are students using the available
educational facilities to the optimum?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1. Is there any significant difference
between the lecturer’s method of teaching and the student’s assimilation?
2. Do the lecturer’s attitude and
methodology affect the performance of the student’s in elementary mathematics?
3. Does reading for examination purposes
only have any significant effect on student’s performance in elementary
mathematics?
4. Is there any relationship between
available educational facilities and academic performance of student in
elementary mathematics?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The result
of the findings will be beneficial to students as It will reveal the underlying
causes of poor performance in elementary mathematics from the point of view of
concerned students.
It will also
be of great benefit to all lecturers and administrators of tertiary
institutions as it will provide current opinions held by students on reasons
for their poor performance in elementary mathematics. The information will
guide in re-organizing and restricting the methods and behavioral positions in
teaching elementary mathematics.
Government
at all levels will be encouraged to make favorable educational policies in term
of the provision of educational and academic facilities and adequate training
of mathematics teacher.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research
project centers on students perception of the cause of poor academic
performance in elementary mathematics taking TAI-SOLARIN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCAION
(TASUED) as a major case study but opinion could be gathered from other
tertiary institutions around Ogun state.
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The case
study of Tai-Solarin University of Education (TASUED) is centered on students’
perception of poor academic performance in elementary mathematics targeted at
200 students at all levels from major department of TASUED. The departments
under consideration are: Computer science, Agricultural science, Information
and Computer Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Industrial
Chemistry, Petrochemical sciences, Health Education, Hotel and Human Management,
Secretariat Administration. Four questionnaire each for each level will be
administered to each of the department, excluding Health Education, Hotel and
Human management and Secretariat Administration which will be administered 8
questionnaires for each level. The major reason for the difference in the
questionnaire is because many students do not perform well in elementary
mathematics from the department of Health Education, Hotel and Human management
and Secretariat studies.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Assessment:
A system of giving a student a final mark/grade based on work done during a
course of study rather than on one examination.
Attitude:
The way that you think and fell about somebody or something.
Discipline:
An area of knowledge, a subject that people study or are taught especially in a
university.
Elementary:
The first stage of a course of study.
Facilities:
One of several things that cause or influence something.
Internet: An
international computer network connecting other network and computer from
companies, universities, etc
Perception:
How well or badly you do something.
Positive:
Completely sure that something is correct or true.
Student: A
person studying at a university or college.
Tertiary: A
higher school that provide education for people.
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