Influence of type of school on self perception of mathematical ability and achievement among girls in secondary school in Harare

Abstract

The study explored the influence of type of school on fourth-year secondary school girls‟ selfperception of ability and achievement in Mathematics. The study sample comprised of 90 girls from one girls-only school and one coeducational school in Harare district, who were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Girls‟ perception of their ability in mathematics was measured using a selfadministered questionnaire with both open- and closed-ended questions Mathematics achievement was assessed using document analysis of the two >schools‟ national examination results over an eleven year period.. The findings indicate that the self-perception of mathematical ability of girls in the single-sex school is higher than those in coeducational school. However, there is no significant difference in the achievement of ordinary level girls in mathematics attending either the single-sex or the co-educational school (x² = 0.4368 p < 0.05).