Dr. B. FEKUMO 1 and Fidelis Ochelebe OMEKA 2
1 Community Secondary School, Bulou-Orua, Bayelso State, Nigeria
2 Department of Mathematics Education, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria
Abstract
This study employs an ex-post facto research design to examine the influence of students’ perception of mathematics on Junior Secondary School students’ academic performance in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Four research questions were asked to guide the study and two hypotheses was formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The sample comprises 170 Junior Secondary School students. A validated instrument titled Students’ Perception of Mathematics Questionnaire (SPOMQ) was used to collect students’ opinions (data). Data collected were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation and the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics technique. The findings revealed that the students in this study area have negative perception toward mathematics. The result also revealed that the students’ negative perceptions toward mathematics grossly influence their performance in mathematics. The result indicated that gender and age do not contribute to the students’ perception of mathematics but language background contributes greatly to the students’ understanding of mathematics. Furthermore, there was a weak negative significant correlation between the students’ perception of mathematics and their academic performance in mathematics. Lastly, there is no significant difference between the perceptions of male and female students toward mathematics. The study therefore recommends that School Management should put in enough effort in counseling the students toward developing positive attitudes and interest toward mathematics learning to enhance high performance in mathematics. Mathematics Teachers should reduce the use of ambiguous terminologies in teaching mathematics rather improve in explaining these terminologies in a language the students may understand. The Teachers should make use of appropriate audio-visual materials in teaching mathematics to enhance the interest of students thereby reduce the negative perceptions.
Keywords: Perception of Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Gender, Age, Language Background
How to Cite this Article:
Fekumo, B. & Omeka, F. O. (2022). Influence of Students’ Perception of Mathematics on Junior Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. VillageMath Educational Review (VER), 3(1), 53-71. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5817539
