Attitude of Students Toward the Study of Mathematics in Odoben Senior High School, Ghana: Implications for Curriculum Implementation

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the poor attitude of students of Odoben Senior High School toward the study of mathematics and its implications for curriculum implementation. Specifically, the study investigated the factors that influenced students’ poor attitude toward the study of mathematics, its effects on students’ academic performance in mathematics. The study adopted the descriptive design with a population of 500 students and six teachers. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 10 students while six mathematics teachers were purposively sampled. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed thematically. The findings revealed that most students of the school had poor attitudes toward the study of mathematics because of teachers’ failure to break mathematical concepts into their simplest forms for easy understanding, absenteeism of students in mathematics lessons, behavioural characteristic acquired through socialization in the school environment and lack of both qualified mathematics teachers and teaching and learning resources for the smooth implementation of the mathematics curriculum. The major effect was poor academic performance of students in mathematics. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations are made for teachers, parents and GES on how best to ensure that students adopt positive attitudes toward the study of mathematics.

Keywords: Attitude, Mathematics, Implications, Curriculum Implementation