High School Students’ Attitudes Towards the Study of Mathematics and their Perceived Teachers’ Teaching Practices

Abstract

The study employed a survey to explore 210 high school students’ attitudes towards the study of mathematics and their perceptions on their teachers’ teaching practices. The sample was made up of 102 males and 108 females who were randomly selected from four high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region of Ghana. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses. The findings showed high perceived attitudes reported in the students’ interest in doing mathematics, usefulness of mathematics, and confidence in doing mathematics; it was unclear whether students perceived mathematics as a male dominated subject or not. With regards to teachers’ teaching practices, all the 3 subscales: use of student- centered approach, classroom management skills and communication skills studied, were reported to be important in influencing students learning of mathematics. However, communication skills adopted by teachers in teaching the subject was perceived as the strongest predictor of high school students’ attitudes followed by teachers’ classroom management skills. The study concludes that to ensure positive attitudes of students towards the study of mathematics, effective communication and classroom management skills should be integral in mathematics teachers’ instructional practices; they should be important goals of any mathematics teacher preparation programs.