A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF MASS FAILURE IN MATHEMATICS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS A CASE STUDY OF UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Student academic achievement in senior high school certificate examination mathematics has increased in recent years.
“Mathematics” is a Greek word that means “learned things.” According to Majasa (1995), it is the science of counting, measuring, and describing the shape of items. It is concerned with logical reasoning and numerical calculations. Mathematics is acknowledged as the foundation of science and technology, without which a country would never be rich or economically independent.
This emphasizes the necessity of mathematical competency for all learners at all levels of education, as well as a cause for making mathematics a compulsory and leading core subject in secondary school curricula. This significance reflects the understanding of the critical function it plays in modern society. Despite the efforts of the government and other education partners, mathematics remains one of the most difficult subjects in schools.
There is a widespread perception that mathematics is difficult by definition, and as a result, junior secondary school pupils, the focus of this study, perform poorly. This poor math performance has been attributed to two major categories: hereditary and environmental factors, which can be further classified into students, home, teachers, and school factors. Ola (1998).
Students, on the other hand, argue that mathematics is highly structured and abstract, necessitating a special intellectual mindset. As a result, pupils regard the subject as esoteric. Emenalo (1986) highlighted in Nwogu (1990) that the underlying belief held by many Africans that mathematics is a highly difficult subject capable of driving one “crazy” lies at the heart of the phobia that pupils exhibit for mathematics and which has claimed numerous causalities over the years.
As a result, Nworgu (1990:123) asks, “How could anyone expect our poor and innocent youngsters to be so brave as to face something capable of driving even an adult insane?” Students would rather do something else, no matter how tough, than attend mathematics classes.
The majority of parents do not play an important role in preparing their children for school. The youngster is expected to see the world through the lens of these archaic ideals, and the goodness or not of his actions is evaluated accordingly.
The child’s opposition stems from what he perceives to be outdated, as well as the parents’ preservation of traditionalism. Whaler (1997), for example, contends that consistent and appropriate parental responses to the whole range of a child’s response repertoire will create a family setting favorable to positive reinforcement of child compliance. In contrast, inconsistent parental reactions appear to generate a disordered family environment that promotes negative reinforcement of kid opposition.
He contends that based on these two types of contexts, parents and children are shown to produce separate personal rules that specify the roles of context arrangements, behavior, and reinforcement. Parents rarely require their children to describe the challenge or joy discovered in their mathematics studies. This is one of the reasons why children perform poorly in mathematics.
Teachers of junior mathematics are scarce due to the location of some schools, particularly those in Akwa Ibom State’s Uyo LGA. In-service training has not provided opportunity for the few available teachers to update their skills and expertise.
Teachers have a vital role in pupils’ mathematical learning. According to Nicol (1997), “a teacher can only be perceived to be effective if students learn more easily and perform better with his support than without his help.”
The attitude of the teacher might impede learning, especially if the teacher does not exhibit himself as a high intellectual and formidable individual.
A quack doctor can handle one person at a time, but a lousy teacher can harm not only one person but an entire nation. Nigeria is dealing with a shortage of qualified mathematics teachers, which is one of the key causes of pupil failure.
The school administrator also has a direct role to play in terms of student and teacher discipline, supervision of teaching and learning, and adequately preparing pupils for examinations.
“An effective mental health for principal includes emotional, stability, character maturity, and a large capacity of frustration tolerance with the strength to withstand the strain and stress inherent in running today’s Nigeria secondary school without undue fiscal or psychological disequilibrium,” writes Ekemia (2006:38).
Many principals confront managerial challenges, particularly those who lack human relationships and are unable to carry out efficient administrative activities in schools. A school, for example, that lacks discipline is unlikely to meet the educational system’s goal. It is clear from the facts listed above that there are numerous causes of mass failure in mathematics examinations in junior secondary school certificate examinations.
According to Adewale (1992), it is the only tool that can assess both students’ and teachers’ performance at the end of their junior secondary school careers. He went on to say that a student’s success or failure in an examination is a clear manifestation of the student’s academic activities during the course. Success or strong performance defines a brighter future for the student, however failure is devastating because it always indicates a dropout, which is the most common result in this field of study.
Finally, the study’s findings will undoubtedly inspire the researcher to seek possible suggestions and recommendations to students, teachers, parents, sponsors, and the government in order to put an end to student mass failure of mathematics in such external junior certificate examinations and to improve student performance in future examinations in these schools and other parts of the country experiencing similar educational problems.
1.1 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
Perhaps not enough attention has been paid to pupils’ performance in senior secondary school topics in recent years. This negligence has undoubtedly pushed junior topics to the margins of our senior secondary certificate exams. A detailed examination of the 2004/2008 SSCE results indicates that students’ performance has been generally bad, and the increased number of school dropouts in the area of study is a clear indicator of the theme.
Many factors contribute to poor performance, including students’ ineffective study techniques, the quality of teachers and methods of instruction, parents’ inability to provide useful materials such as textbooks, exercise books, and school fees, and the problem of insufficient instructional materials for teaching and learning mathematics in schools.
In light of these philosophical considerations, this study is specifically designed to investigate the causes and effects of widespread failure in mathematics in the senior secondary school certificate test in Uyo LGA.
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this research is to determine the reasons and consequences of widespread mathematics failure in senior secondary school certificate examinations. The researchers’ interests are to critically examine and identify the causes and effects of mass failure of mathematics in senior secondary school certificate examinations.
Specifically, the study sought to determine whether there are sufficient numbers of qualified mathematics teachers and instructional materials for mathematics teaching.
Students’ previous socioeconomic backgrounds have an impact on their ability to master mathematics.
Students’ attitudes and interests in the nature of mathematics play a significant role in their widespread failure in SSCE, particularly in mathematics.
1.3 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The student will understand the significance of effective domains such as interest and motivation in boosting their performance.
With this insight, the student may adopt a more positive approach toward mathematics, resulting in improved performance and higher results in the senior secondary school certificate test.
Teachers will also be able to modify their teaching approaches and provide remedial assistance where they notice students displaying a negative attitude. The state government will also recognize the need for advice and counseling in each school, as well as the ministry of education and curriculum designers for improved subject organization in education.
1.4 STUDY OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons and consequences of widespread mathematics failure in the senior high school certificate test in Uyo LGA. Due to military constraints such as time and other resources, as well as the trouble of dealing with a vast scope, the researchers concentrated solely on senior mathematics.
1.5 THE STUDY’S RESEARCH
The following research question will assist the study to carry out a complete study of the research:
– Is there an adequate supply of skilled mathematics teachers and instructional materials for teaching maths?
Does the kids’ past socioeconomic background influence their maths studies?
Is it true that students’ poor attitude and lack of interest in the nature of mathematics contribute significantly to their mass failure in SSCE, particularly in mathematics?
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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF MASS FAILURE IN MATHEMATICS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS A CASE STUDY OF UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
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