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THE
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS IN SOLVING ALGEBRAIC PROBLEM IN SENIOR
SECONDARY SCHOOL
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 a descriptive survey for collecting data 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. Chapter one of this work is introduction which deals with the
background of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope
and limitation of the study, chapter two include the literature review of the
previous researchers, the importance of mathematics and algebra, difficulties
students encountered in solving algebraic problems, effect of the prerequisite
knowledge of students in algebra, possible solutions to the difficulties
encountered by students in solving algebraic problems, chapter three discusses
the research methodology, chapter four discusses presentation and analysis of
the data collected from teachers and students. Chapter five deals with the
summary, discussion, recommendations and conclusions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.2BACKGROUND
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.T 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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