Attitudes of junior secondary school students in the Cape Coast Metropolitan area toward mathematics

Abstract

The research examined the attitudes of JSS Form 2 students toward mathematics. The extent to which the students‘ gender and the types of school they attended (public or private) influenced their attitudes toward mathematics were measured with reference to the confidence they had in their mathematics abilities, their view of the usefulness of mathematics, their view of mathematics as a male domain, and how they perceive their teachers‘ perception of their mathematical abilities. The study involved 921 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in the Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana. A 48 item questionnaire that provided indications of how intensely students felt about mathematics along a five-point attitude scale was employed for data gathering. The results of the study revealed that the JSS students in general had positive attitudes toward mathematics. With respect to the four aspects of attitude to mathematics examined, differences in gender and type of school were observed though not large enough for the mean difference to be of practical significance. However a statistical significant difference in gender in favour of boys was observed in the confidence students had in their mathematics abilities. A significant difference in favour of girls was observed in their view of mathematics as a male domain as well as how they perceived their teachers‘ perception of their mathematical abilities. Similarly, a significant difference was observed between public and private school in favour of the latter in the four aspects of attitude to mathematics examined.

Keywords: attitude to mathematics, confidence, gender, public or private schools