AN INVESTIGATION INTO SOME OF THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MANJIYA COUNTY, BUDUDA DISTRICT, EASTERN UGANDA

ABSTRACT

The research addressed the factors that could influence performance in Mathematics in

secondary schools in Manjiya County Bududa District. It aimed at determining the teacher,

student and school-related factors that influence performance in mathematics in the

district. The study adopted descriptive research design. The target population was

mathematics teachers and Senior Three students. Stratified sampling technique was used to

select Six (6) secondary schools: 1 for boys, 1 for girls and 4 for mixed from’ Nine secondary

schools in Manjiya County, Bududa District, Eastern Uganda. Twenty-seven Mathematics

Teachers teaching the study classes were purposively sampled. Simple random sampling was

used to select one stream from each category where there were more than one stream,

~otherwise the stream was purposively selected. The factors considered in this study include: the

students ygender, class size, teaching methods and availability of teaching/learning resources.

These a±e the independent variables and the dependent variable is students’ performance.

The objective of the study was to find out whether these factors influence the students

achievement in mathematics significantly or not. The data collected, was coded and analyzed

using the SPSS package. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique was used to test the

effect of the factors on students’ performance. The study revealed that students’ performance is

influenced by teaching method. The study also revealed that the availability of textbooks

influence students’ performance, although, the influence was not statistically significant. Gender

differences were noted in performance where on average male students performed better than

female students, however, the difference was not statistically significant. It was recommended

that heuristic approaches to teaching should be integrated with expository approaches to enhance

teaching and learning. Cooperative learning should be emphasized among teacher-students and

students-students and students should be exposed to problem-solving situations to help them

develop critical thinking skills.

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