The Influence of Psychological and Societal Factors on Student Performance in Mathematics at the Senior Secondary School Level

Abstract

The study examined the influence of psychological and societal factors on
students’ performance in mathematics at Senior Secondary School Level in
Ilorin metropolis of Kwara state. A simple random sampling technique was
used to sample three hundred secondary school students who supplied
information on the questionnaire. Each student was also given an academic
achievement test to measure their performance in Mathematics. Average
weighted response and correlational analysis were used to test the hypothesis. The result showed that psychological and societal factors are a significant influence on academic performance of Senior Secondary School students. It was also found that psychological factors exert a great influence on performance in mathematics. Based on the result, the researcher recommends that teachers, counsellors and parents should understand the psychological aspects of learning on their students/children in order to enhance their academic performance in mathematics.