Students’ Perception of Factors Influencing Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in Senior Secondary Schools in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined students’ perception of factors influencing teaching and learning of mathematics in senior secondary schools in Maiduguri Metropolis of Borno State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which students perceived: qualification, method of teaching, instructional materials and attitude of both teachers and students influence the teaching and learning of mathematics in senior secondary schools. The study used a sample of 1500 males and 1100 females students from six selected senior secondary schools in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was a self-developed questionnaire measuring students' perception of factors influencing teaching and learning of mathematics. It had a reliability index of 0.81. To analyze the data collected, the research questions were answered using descriptive statistics such as simple frequency, mean and standard  deviation. The results indicated that qualification of mathematics teachers, teaching method, and instructional materials were highly perceived by students as important determinants of their success in learning. Also, students’ attitude towards mathematics teaching and learning was an important factor in the performance of students.  Based on the results of this study, it was recommended that: There is need to improve the quality of mathematics teachers.  Government of Borno State should embark on serious in-service training of mathematics teachers to equip them with skills for teaching mathematics in secondary schools. Also there is need for mathematics teachers to try and understand the perceptions of their students and try to adopt instructional strategies that whatever student perceived as easy would really turn out to be easy and whatever is difficult may be properly addressed to motivate and encourage students to see the need in learning mathematics and improve their performance.

Keywords: Students' perception, Teachers' qualification, Teaching method, Mathematics                teaching, Mathematics learning