INVESTIGATION ON THE CAUSES AND EFFECT OF MASS FAILURE OF MATHEMATICS IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In order for Nigeria to achieve her goal of developing Junior Secondary Schools, residents of the country must excel in all secondary school subjects throughout their lives. Student academic achievement in mathematics has increased in recent years at the junior secondary school certificate examination level. The term “mathematics” is derived from the Greek language and means “learned things.” Majasa (1995) defines counting, measuring, and describing the shape of items as the science of counting, measuring, and describing their shape. It is concerned with both logical reasoning and numerical computations. Mathematics is frequently regarded in the world of science and technology as the foundation upon which a nation can never achieve prosperity and economic independence. Mathematics is taught in schools.
across the world. Mathematical competency is essential for all learners at all levels of education, which is why mathematics has been made mandatory and is one of the most important core subjects in secondary school curricula around the world. As a result of its significance, the critical role it plays in contemporary society has been recognized.
Despite the efforts of the government and other stakeholders in the education sector, mathematics remains one of the most difficult subjects to master in the classroom. There is a widespread belief that mathematics is difficult by definition, and as a result of this belief, junior secondary school students, the subjects of this study, perform poorly. This is a low Math performance has been linked to two broad categories: hereditary variables and environmental factors, which can be further subdivided into factors affecting children, their families, teachers, and the school environment. Ola is a Portuguese word that roughly translates to “olive tree” or “olive tree” in English (1998). Students, on the other hand, argue that mathematics is highly structured and abstract, requiring the development of a distinct intellectual approach. As a result, students regard the subject as esoteric. Nwogu (1990) articulated the fact that the inherent notion held by many Africans that mathematics is a very difficult subject capable of driving one “mad” is at the heart of the phobia that students exhibit for mathematics and has claimed many causalities over the years. Emenalo (1986) asks over the years, “How would any reasonable person expect our poor and innocent children to be so brave as to face something capable of making them “mad”?” According to the survey results, students would rather do something else, no matter how difficult, than attend mathematics lessons. The majority of parents do not actively participate in their children’s school preparation. As a result, the child is expected to see the world through the lens of these archaic ideals, and the goodness or otherwise of his or her behavior is judged accordingly. The child’s opposition stems from his perception of what is out of date, as well as the Traditional values are supported by parents. According to Whaler (1997), a family environment favorable to positive reinforcement of child compliance is established when parents respond consistently and appropriately to their children’s entire response repertoire. Uneven parental responses, on the other hand, appear to create a chaotic home environment that appears to be conducive to the negative reinforcement of child resistance. He claims that, based on these two types of contexts, parents and children establish separate personal norms that specify the roles of context arrangements, behavior, and reinforcement, which are then reinforced. When it comes to their children’s math lessons, parents are rarely interested in hearing about the challenges or joys they have encountered. And this is regarded as one. contributing factors to pupils’ low performance in mathematics. Teachers of junior mathematics are scarce due to the location of some schools, particularly those in Enugu State’s Igbo-Etiti local government area, where several schools are located. The few remaining instructors have not been given the opportunity to keep their skills and expertise up to date through in-service training. The efforts of teachers greatly aid students’ ability to study mathematics. “A teacher can only be considered effective if his or her students learn more easily and perform better with his or her assistance than they would have done without his or her assistance,” writes Nicol (1997). A teacher’s attitude can be harmful to students.
Learning is especially important when one does not present himself as a highly intelligent and intimidating individual. A quack doctor can treat an individual for a limited time, but a bad teacher has the potential to harm not only the individual, but the entire nation. Nigeria is dealing with a shortage of qualified mathematics instructors, which is one of the primary causes of the country’s widespread mathematics failure. School administrators are responsible for the discipline of both students and teachers, as well as the monitoring of teaching and learning and preparing students to succeed in their exams, among other things.
“Effective mental health for a principal,” according to Ekemia (2006) includes emotional stability, character maturity, and a large capacity for frustration tolerance, as well as the strength to withstand the strain and stress inherent in running a secondary school in Nigeria today without causing undue financial or psychological disequilibrium.” Many principals face managerial challenges, particularly those who lack interpersonal skills and are unable to effectively carry out their administrative responsibilities in the schools. The educational system’s goal and objectives are rarely met in a school that lacks discipline, for example. The facts presented above show that a variety of factors contribute to the widespread failure of mathematics examinations during junior secondary school certificate examinations. The Ministry of Education plans and administers this external test for junior high students.
Certificate program for secondary school.
As Adewale (1992) points out, it is the only tool that can be used to assess both students’ and instructors’ performance at the end of their junior secondary school courses. He went on to say that a student’s success or failure in an examination is a direct reflection of his or her academic activity throughout the course. He concluded by saying that the difference between success and failure is that success indicates a better future for the student, whereas failure always indicates a dropout, which is a common occurrence in the domain of this research. It is obvious that the study’s findings will motivate the researcher to seek out possible suggestions and recommendations.
to students, teachers, parents, sponsors, and the government in order to end widespread failure of mathematics students in external junior certificate examinations and improve student performance in future examinations in these schools and other parts of the country experiencing similar educational problems.
1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
Students’ performance in junior secondary school topics may have received insufficient attention in recent years. This is a source of concern. Without a doubt, as a result of this carelessness, junior subjects have been relegated to a secondary position in our junior secondary certificate test. A detailed examination of the JSSCE results records for the years 2014-2018 reveals that students’ overall performance has been extremely low, and the number of school dropouts has increased.
Dropouts from the field of study are an obvious indicator of the theme. Many factors contribute to poor performance, including students’ ineffective study techniques, the quality of teachers and the method of instruction, parents’ inability to provide necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, and school fees, and a lack of adequate instructional materials for mathematics teaching and learning in schools. In light of these considerations, the goal of this research is to identify the causes and consequences of widespread mathematics failure in junior secondary school certificate examinations in Akwaibom State’s Etinan Local Government Area.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this research is to determine the causes and consequences of widespread mathematics failure.
The certificate examination for junior secondary school. The study specifically seeks to:
i. Determine whether teachers’ qualifications and characteristics contribute significantly to student mass failure in mathematics in the junior secondary school certificate examination.
ii. Determine whether students’ socioeconomic backgrounds influence their ability to learn mathematics.
iii. To investigate whether students’ attitudes and interests in the nature of mathematics play a significant role in their mass failure in JSSCE, particularly in mathematics.
iv. Determine whether a lack of instructional materials for teaching mathematics has a significant impact on student mass failure in JSSCE.
1.4 QUESTION FOR RESEARCH
The following questions guide the research:
i. Does teachers qualification and characteristics significantly triggers student mass failure in mathematics in junior secondary school certificate examination?
ii. Does the socio-economic
ii. Does the students’ socioeconomic background influence their ability to learn mathematics?
iii. Does students’ attitude and interest in the nature of mathematics play a significant role in their mass failure in JSSCE, particularly in mathematics?
iv. Determine whether a lack of instructional materials for teaching mathematics has a significant impact on student mass failure in JSSCE.
1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The student will understand the significance of effective domains such as interest and motivation in improving their performance. With this awareness, the student may adopt a more positive attitude toward mathematics, resulting in improved performance and higher grades in the junior secondary school certificate examination. Teachers will also be able to modify their teaching methods and provide remedial services.
1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes and consequences of widespread mathematics failure in junior secondary school certificate examinations in AkwaIbom State’s Etinan Local Government Area. Variables such as the teacher’s characteristics, the student’s socioeconomic background, the lack of instructional material, and the student’s attitude toward the subject were discussed.
1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS
The researchers encountered minor constraints while conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. The significant constraint was the scarcity of literature on the subject because it is a new discourse, so the researcher incurred more financial expenses and spent more time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information and in the data collection process, which is why the The researcher chose a small sample size that included only junior secondary schools in AkwaIbom State’s Etinan Local Government Area. As a result, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to other states in Nigeria. Furthermore, the researcher’s involvement in this study while also working on other academic projects will impede maximum dedication to the research. Nonetheless, despite the constraints encountered during the research, all factors were minimized in order to provide the best results and make the research a success.
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