Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn)

Vol. 17, No. 2, May 2023, pp. 183~194

ISSN: 2089-9823 DOI: 10.11591/edulearn.v17i2.20531  183

Positive attitudes toward mathematics among senior high school

students in Cape Coast Metropolis

Florence Christianah Awoniyi1, Kwaku Darko Amponsah1,2

1
Department of Teacher Education, School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
2
Department of Science and Technology Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: The study involved 2,575 students selected through a combination of
probability and non-probability sampling procedures. Explanatory sequential
Received Apr 02, 2022 mixed methods design was used. Participants completed the Fennema-
Revised Mar 01, 2023 Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (FSMAS) to provide the quantitative
Accepted Mar 17, 2023 data for the research. The qualitative data were gathered through interviews.
The arithmetic mean from the survey data for each of the students was used
to shortlist 140 students for focus group interviews. The findings revealed
Keywords: that some of the impetuses that drive the respondents’ positive attitudes
towards mathematics were mathematics as a compulsory subject, good
Attitudes teaching strategies by teachers, the utility of mathematics, career aspirations,
Career aspirations and encouragement from parents, guardian or peers. The study
Mathematics recommended that stakeholders should encourage, enhance and promote
Senior high school these factors. Teachers, educators, and researchers are encouraged to dig
Teaching strategies deeper to unearth more of such factors.
Utility
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.

Corresponding Author:
Florence Christianah Awoniyi
Department of Teacher Education, School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana
Legon, Ghana
Email: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION
The Ghanaian government has embraced technology, science, and mathematics as means for
achieving national development [1], [2]. The fundamental goal of the Ghanaian mathematics curriculum is to
allow all Ghanaian youth to acquire the mathematical abilities, insights, attitudes, and values that they will
need to be successful in their chosen occupations and daily lives, which is a significant objective [1]. All
children can learn mathematics, and all students need to study mathematics, is the underlying tenet of the
programme. As a result, at the senior high school level, students are expected to acquire the necessary
mathematical skills to apply their knowledge to solving practical problems and, secondly, to be well-prepared
to pursue further education and related careers in mathematics, science, commerce, industry, and a variety of
other professions.
The acquisition and use of fundamental mathematical knowledge and abilities are given a lot of
attention in the curriculum. The mathematics curriculum is designed to give pupils the information, abilities,
and attitudes necessary for success in this age of technological innovation [3]. Numbers and numeration,
plane geometry, mensuration, algebra, statistics and probability, trigonometry, vectors, and transformation on
a plane are the main topics covered in the senior high school mathematics curriculum. The curriculum has
only recently been reviewed, and all Ghanaian students are expected to continue to place a high priority on
learning mathematics. The new curriculum places a strong emphasis on a set of rigorous, globally
benchmarked career and tertiary education requirements that students must master in order to pursue

Journal homepage: http://edulearn.intelektual.org

184  ISSN: 2089-9823

postsecondary education, a career, or both [4]. This is due to the perception that mathematics achievement is
essential for both personal and societal advancement.
However, stakeholders in the education sector have not been at ease in the last eleven years due to
the fluctuations in performances of students at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination
(WASSCE). A good number of students are unable to further their education due to their inability to obtain a
credit pass in mathematics (where a credit pass means A 1 to C6). Table 1 depicts the performance of students
as reported by the General Resume of Chief Examiners’ report (WAEC, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

Table 1. WASSCE results pass rate in mathematics from 2012 to 2021

Year Results (%)
2012 49.9
2013 36.8
2014 32.4
2015 25.3
2016 32.8
2017 42.7
2018 38.3
2019 65.3
2020 65.7
2021 54.1
2022 61.4

Even though there has not been an excellent WASSCE results in mathematics in the last ten years,
there is a need to ponder on what made it possible for those who recorded credit passes in those years. Some
earlier studies have enumerated factors that challenge the teaching, learning, and outcomes in mathematics in
senior high schools. These factors can be categorised as school-based, such as student/teacher ratio or class
size and supervision; teacher factors, which include attitudes and beliefs, commitment, content knowledge,
pedagogical knowledge, experience, and qualification; student factors, which include intelligence, interests,
gender and early childhood learning; parental factors such as race, ethnicity, and social class; policy makers’
factors, such as inadequacy or lack of textbooks, assessment practices, under staffing and curriculum [5]–[9].
There are also studies that have demonstrated that students' attitudes towards mathematics contribute to their
mathematics performance, over and above personality and cognitive ability [10].
Hence, the testimonies of learners in particular can give crucial, first-hand evidence if the goal of
any inquiry into learning outcomes is to improve learning [11], [12]. If students are to provide descriptions of
their learning in any research, researchers should be more concerned about learners' perspectives regarding
their experiences in classrooms and schools than just ‘factual’ testimony in the legal sense. Although these
attitudes might not be considered acceptable proof in a court of law, they are an essential resource in an
investigation aimed at enhancing learning. Moreover, educators and other math teachers [13] largely concur
that students will perform better in mathematics if they enjoy it and that they will learn more successfully
when they are enthusiastic in what they are learning. This assertion corroborated the position of [14] that a
“positive attitude towards mathematics is thought to play an important role in causing students to learn
mathematics” (p. 631). This might be the case because students’ perceptions of mathematics and their
participation in the subject are influenced by their attitude. When students were asked to rate their subjects in
order of preference, the high achievers gave mathematics a much higher ranking than their peers, supporting
[15] argument that they had a more positive attitude towards mathematics than underachievers. Additional
research has shown that attitudes about mathematics are considerably and directly related to learners'
achievement [10], [16]–[19]. Hence, for this study, positive attitudes of students were delved into to proffer
evidence that are possibly responsible for these attitudes towards mathematics.
According to Hart [20], it takes a multidisciplinary approach to attitudes toward mathematics and
characterises a person's attitudes toward mathematics as a more complicated reality, characterized by the
feelings they have for mathematics, the ideas they have about it, and the way they act toward it. The learned
propensity of a person to react favourably or unfavourably to a thing, situation, idea, or another person is
referred to as attitude [21]. The definition by Hart [20] is more appealing for this study because it
encompasses the students' emotional, cognitive, and behavioural aspects. Howe and Krosnick have assigned
strength to attitudes [22]. These authors believe that the strength of one's attitude varies. The importance of
attitudes in moulding thinking and action in different settings is measured by their strength. Some people
have strong attitudes, while others have weak ones. Strong attitudes are those that have the greatest impact on

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a person's ideas, intentions, and actions. Easy-to-change attitudes are weak and unlikely to influence
behaviour. The attitudes that have the greatest influence on behaviour are the most difficult to alter.
Additionally, Kahveci [23] and other researchers have developed many instruments that they have
used to gauge attitudes. Ajzen [24] suggests three behaviour-based measures. Personal commitment to the
behaviour, self-reported behaviour, and observable acts taken by the individuals and noted by the investigator
are some of them. Self-reported behaviour was used in this study since research [25], [26] has shown that
common scaling methods like the Likert scale can be used to obtain congruence between attitudes and
behaviour measurements. Hence, Kahveci's [23] adaptation of the Modified Fennema-Sherman Mathematics
Attitude Scales (FSMAS) was used in this study.
Due to the problems researchers have in this relatively new field of study, including theories that are
not yet fully formed, terminology that is employed inconsistently and differently, and a variety of research
tools [27], [28], there are also numerous classifications of the sub-constructs of attitude. For instance, [22]
suggested that three main groups of factors—self-interest, social identity, and values—generally impact
individual attitudes. Confidence, beliefs in the value of mathematics and its practical application, and
mathematical anxiety, according to Ashby [29], are additional factors that affect attitudes toward
mathematics. On the other hand, according to Lim and Chapman [30], attitudes toward mathematics can be
divided into three sub-constructs: i) Enjoyment of mathematics; ii) Self-confidence in mathematics; and iii)
Value of mathematics.
The first sub-construct, enjoyment of mathematics, refers to the emotions, passions, and feelings
that come with learning mathematics. Thus, enjoyment of mathematics refers to how much students love
doing and learning mathematics [31]. This means that students who like mathematics are likely to spend
more time with the subject. Consequently, they are likely to learn better, thereby recording higher
performance. The second sub-construct, self-confidence, is based on students’ conviction in their abilities to
learn the subject [32]. Thus, when students are prepared to face mathematical obstacles, it boosts their
academic performance. Meanwhile, students with low self-esteem easily give up the hope of achieving
success when confronted with some challenges in computing numerical tasks; thus, resulting in low
performance. The final sub-construct, value, refers to perceived usefulness of mathematics. This has to do
with students' opinions of the importance of mathematics in real life, either currently or in the future, or both
[32]. In the study conducted by Guy et al. [33], they discovered that the perceived usefulness of mathematics
was a positive predictor of success in the subject. The ability to see how useful the subject is to the
participants of their study (both then and in the future) may have played some role in the output they
produced in the subject.
Furthermore, there are eight sub-constructs of attitude, according to the modified Fennema-Sherman
Mathematics Attitude Scales. These are interest, social influence, value, perseverance, confidence, gender,
enjoyment, and perceived personal ability. Six of the sub-constructs will converge into the three sub-
constructs identified by Lim and Chapman [30], with the exception of the social influence and gender. The
perceived personal ability and confidence will converge into self-confidence, enjoyment, interest, and
perseverance will converge into the enjoyment of mathematics, and value is a stand-alone sub-construct. The
three thematic categories of attitudes must be present before we can declare that an attitude exists. The belief
that mathematics is easy to learn (that is, confidence or cognition), the desire to learn more mathematics (that
is, value or behaviour), and a positive emotion (affective), such as feeling joyful in a mathematics classroom.
This is otherwise known as the ABC model.
The ABC model of attitudes suggests that attitude has three components: affect, behaviour, and
cognition. The three elements denote the verbs ‘feel, do, and think’. The term ‘affect’ refers to a person’s
emotions and feelings about an attitude object. The term ‘behaviour’ denotes intentions, vocal declarations
related to behaviour, and actual action. The term ‘cognition’ has to do with knowledge and beliefs. These
three elements interact closely with one another and influence an individual’s attitude toward an object. Thus,
‘affect’ is represented by eagerness, trust, and belief. The ‘behaviour’ is said to be an experience or value.
Finally, ‘cognition’ is represented by knowledge, competence, or skill. This study, which follows the ABC
paradigm, focuses on attitude factors such as students' self-confidence in their mathematical aptitude,
mathematics enjoyment, and perceptions of mathematics' usefulness.
There have been differences in opinions among researchers regarding which of those sub-constructs
is the core of attitude. Some researchers, for example, Bandura [34] opined that self-confidence of the
individual to have a breakthrough in an activity will energise them to forge ahead despite all odds.
Meanwhile, other researchers, for example, Elliot [35] indicate that self-confidence will generate no
engagement with the task if the individuals do not value the activity. Nonetheless, the study of Lim and
Chapman [36] discovered that within the construct of attitudes, self-confidence was the strongest correlate of
achievement. This is in line with past findings [37] and suggested the importance of self-confidence in
obtaining better mathematics results, both in the short and longer terms. It is not surprising that the
government of Ghana has recently given recognition to the importance of attitude to learning in general, by
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indicating the percentage of attitude that learners are expected to demonstrate as a result of their cumulative
learning experiences in school [3].
Although there have been many studies that have investigated the attitudes of students to learning in
general and to mathematics in particular [5]–[8], many of these studies did well in focusing on attitudes of
students in general and concluded that negatvie attitudes were responsible for poor performances of students
in mathematics. However, there is a need to think outside the box and unearth the reasons behind those
students who possess positive attitudes towards the learning of mathematics, notwithsatnding the numerous
challenges confronting their adventures. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the secrets behind
positive attitudes of senior high school students towards mathematics in the Cape Coast Metropolis. While
affirming positive practices that promote mathematics teaching and learning, the results might provide
insights on how to promote and incite positive changes in the attitudes of students in schools where there are
negative attitudes towards the teaching and learning of mathematics. Furthermore, the lingering problem of
not knowing exactly what can be done to improve the learning of mathematics may be brought at bay
because knowing the secret of positive attitudes towards the learning of mathematics, from [11], [38] would
mean opening rooms for more research into the characteristics of those positive attitudes. Invariably, once a
positive attitude is formed, students’ learning can be improved [17].
The following research question was formulated to guide the study: What are the secrets behind
positive attitudes of eleventh graders towards the learning of mathematics? However, to answer this question,
the following sub-questions were formulated: i) What are students’ understanding of attitudes in relation to
the learning of mathematics?; ii) How do students describe their experience with mathematics?; iii) How
much do students like or dislike mathematics?; and iv) Why do student like or dislike mathematics?

2. RESEARCH METHOD
A sequential explanatory mixed methods research design was adopted in this study. That is, both
quantitative (first to be used) and qualitative (as a follow-up) data were sequentially collected and analyzed.
This is because attitudes are primarily measured by attitude scales that show whether attitudes are positive or
negative. However, finding information about the attitudes of Ghanaian students, on the other hand,
necessitates qualitative methodologies [39] which allow for self-reporting. This will give room for the
research community to draw their own conclusions beyond what the researcher of this paper can produce.
Thus, this paper will report mainly qualitative data. Nonetheless, the quantitative part of the design that
was used for the survey helped to shortlist interviewees with positive attitudes for the qualitative data
collection exercise.
Focus group interviews were employed to collect the data for the qualitative component of
this study. Over 70% of the learners, 68% of whom were male and 32% of whom were female, were between
the ages of 16 and 18. All of the traditional programmes, including general science, business, general
arts, technical, home economics, and visual arts, were represented in the study with science and general
arts having the highest representations (28% and 24%, respectively), while technical had the lowest
presence (2%).
Four core subjects and four elective subjects are offered in all programmes. In addition to offering
four elective subjects each, the core disciplines are core mathematics, English language, social studies, and
integrated science. The optional combinations are different to accommodate the students' various future
needs as well as chosen university programmes and national objectives. For instance, the general science
programmes offer elective mathematics as well as physics, biology, and chemistry. The general arts
programme provides either government, history, christian religious studies, economics, literature, and
government as elective topics, or government, economics, French, or Twi (Ghanaian language). The business
programme offers options in financial accounting, cost accounting, economics, business management,
elective mathematics, economics, economics, and French. It also offers options in financial accounting, cost
accounting, economics, and business management. General knowledge in arts, sculpture, ceramics, pottery,
basketry, graphic design, textile/picture making, general knowledge in arts options, or leather works/jewelry,
general knowledge in arts, graphic design, and picture making/economics are the elective subjects available
for the visual arts programme. Home economics includes topics like food and nutrition, biology, living
arrangements, and general knowledge of the arts, as well as topics like clothes, biology, living arrangements,
and general knowledge of the arts. The technical programme also offers a variety of elective math courses
and other courses in metal, car mechanics, welding, electricals, and other fields.

2.1. Instruments, samples and sampling techniques

A sample size of 3,342 students were randomly selected from among the ten participating schools,
according to the table of sample sizes for research activities [40]. The researchers collected the sample frame

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from each of the 10 schools, which was a list of the population from which students were chosen as the
study's units. According to their class classification, which was based on the programme the students offered,
the form two learners were selected. Different schools used different letters (A1, B4, S2) to represent the
classroom groupings or categorization according to the programme or specialization of the student. For
example, School I (SchI) used 2S1, 2S2, 2S3, 2S4, and 2S5 to represent her five general science classes, with
37 students in each of the classes. School G (SchG) uses 2Aa and 2Ac, comprising 54 and 57 students,
respectively, to represent her two general art classes. To make selection in each of the schools, the
representations (2A1, 2S2, 2Ac) of form two for each school were put together, and the
required number of classes that added up to the sample size based on the recommendation of [40] were
randomly selected.
Although, intact classes were chosen to prevent interfering with the students' academic schedules,
the response rate of the participants was 77% (that is, 2575 students). The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics
Attitude Scales (FSMAS) with high reliability (.777≤ α ≤.942) was used to collect the quantitative data.
Participants were assigned to complete the FSMAS. The arithmetic mean from the survey data for each of the
students was arranged in ascending order, and 250 students from the higher end of the continuum [21] were
shortlisted for the interview (i.e. 250 students from the upper bounds). These represent those with a strong
positive attitude towards the learning of mathematics. Volunteers were solicited from among the 250
students. Consequently, 170 students volunteered to be interviewed, but only 140 (79% males and 21%
females) participated in the interview. The interview guides contained four items, namely: i) What is your
understanding of attitudes in relation to the learning of mathematics?; ii) How would you describe your
experience with mathematics?; iii) Do you like mathematics?; and iv) Why do you like mathematics? The
instruments were made available to four senior mathematics education scholars and were pilot-tested.

2.2. Pilot testing of the instruments

Two instruments were used in this study. They were an interview guide, and a questionnaire. There
were three graduates who just completed their service year at the researcher’s department were specially
trained and financially compensated to assist with data collection (while they were waiting to be posted by
the government to teach at senior high schools).
The semi-structured focus group interviews took place on three occasions. Each attempt was an
improvement over the previous attempt and took place in three different senior high schools, which were
outside of the Cape Coast Metropolis. The first and second attempts engaged 30 and 25 students,
respectively. The last attempt engaged 20 students, and the interview lasted for 60 minutes. During the
interview, the lead interviewer raised the questions, and while voices were tape recorded, both interviewers
noted important points in the code books. After each interview, the researchers compared notes and reconcile
outstanding ideas. The information gathered in answer to the interview questions was qualitatively analysed
utilizing recurrent themes. Despite the author's intentions, several preset codes were discovered while
conducting a data analysis [41]. This led to the usage of both developing and predefined codes.
The analysis was performed manually and was divided into stages. The initial step was
familiarization with the data, which required transcribing the data so that textual information was
documented as accurately as possible. The transcriptions were then read aloud several times as the writers
made notes about the noteworthy details. The second stage involved coding the data and identifying the
verbal statements that fit each code. The third stage required gathering all pertinent data extracts inside the
determined topics, which were organized using a table, and categorizing various codes into the developing
themes. The themes were examined in the fourth step to determine how they related to the data set. The
topics are categorized into several subjects in the fifth step using the interview questions as a guide. The final
step entails the extraction of verbal expressions to support the determined attitudes-related components [41].
The coding of the data was done by four coders. As a result, there was an inter-coder agreement wherein
three or four coders concurred on the codes to be applied to the same text passages. The majority opinion was
used when there was a disagreement over how a particular section should be coded.

2.3. Interview
After the analysis of the pilot test of the instrument a checklist based on the common themes was
prepared, and it was used together with an interview guide. All the interviews were recorded. Hence, when
the lead interviewer asks a question, the companion ticks the checklist based on the response given by the
student. Consequently, for the main study, an interview guide, a checklist, a tape recorder, and a code book
for a backup were used. The interviews took place in each of the ten selected schools with an average of 14
students in a school. In addition, both the interviewers and the interviewees sat in circles. The seats were
coded for easy identification of the students' programmes of study. Nonetheless, the analysis was combined
for ease of reporting. The frequency of the responses was counted, giving rise to frequency counts and
percentages. However, because the respondents gave multiple responses the sum or percentage sum is
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meaningless. Each interview took 60 minutes on average and was managed by two interviewers. Each
individual school was assigned an alphabet (A to J), and each student was numbered St 1, St2, St3, …, for
example, the code, StC2, means ‘student 2 from school C’.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Students’ understanding of attitudes
The students were asked about their understanding of attitudes in relation to the learning of
mathematics. As many as 100 (71%) of the 140 students interviewed saw it to be about their responses,
dispositions, or reactions to mathematics, 106 (76%) of them saw it as the importance they attached to
mathematics, 12 (9%) of the students saw it as being about their opinions or behaviour towards mathematics.
About 50 (36%) of the respondents indicated that attitude has to do with the level of their confidence in
mathematics as well as the value they attach to mathematics. From their responses, it could be established
that the students were aware of their attitudes towards mathematics as well as the implications of such
attitudes. For example, one student (StB1) said, “attitude is how I behave towards somebody or something or
subject e.g., math, …like whether in good way or bad way”. The lead interviewer probed further how the
respondent behaves towards mathematics and whether it is in a good way or a bad way; StB1 “in a good
way…except that I smile nicely at my teacher whenever I sense I am ‘in trouble’ of being called to answer
question in class. This helps to make him move his attention to someone else”. “Why do you do that,” the
interviewer asked, StB1 responded, “I just do not want to be embarrassed openly in the class, but I work very
hard on my own”. Student (StC2) declared “my attitude is determined by my classroom environment. I try to
be friendly with the teacher so that I can have good relationship with math. ‘I also attend extra lessons with
the teacher to catch up”. Another student (StD1) claimed, “attitude is how disposed I am to math. I can say I
am well disposed”. The submission of student (StC2) shows that good teacher-student relationship could
promote good attitude to learning. This may eventually result in good academic achievement. This
submission is in line with the findings of [42], [43] that established in their studies that teacher-student
relationships positively predict the academic achievement of students. Hence, teachers should be
approachable to facilitate easy access to them by their students. In addition, they should not be deceived by
pleasant countenance from students as evident in StB1 submission.

3.2. Experiences of students with mathematics

The students were asked to describe their experiences with mathematics. Their responses were
grouped into three major themes: average experiences such as ‘fine’ ‘somehow’, ‘not bad’ ‘no choice’, ‘no
idea’; positive experiences such as ‘interesting’, ‘awesome’, ‘great’, ‘stimulating’, ‘fascinating’; negative
experiences such as ‘difficult’, ‘confusing’, ‘bad’ ‘nasty’, ‘discouraging’. About 20 students (14%) have
positive experiences, 119 (85%) have average experiences, while one (1%) have negative experience. These
responses revealed that most of the students have had good experiences with mathematics, with the exception
of a few students whose experiences could neither be classified as good nor bad. For example, Student (StF3)
declared “I have no choice but to learn math”. The interviewer interrupted, by asking the student, “How do
you mean?”, (StF3) responded, “Because I see math as a problem, I always attend extra lessons in the
subject. I always need to work hard in the subject…although I always do well, the success in math for me
comes with tears. Because I am afraid of failing math, I forced myself to learn math against my wish. I am
determined to make A1 (credit) in math”.
Although student (StF3) was able to manage their fears of learning mathematics with the
determination to succeed, researchers [44], [45] discovered that fear of failure could cripple some students
from attempting to learn mathematics or lead to learned helplessness. Thus, as teachers and educators, in
agreement with [46] we should create an environment that helps to undermine students’ fear of failure.
Furthermore, student (StB1) declared, “My experience is discouraging. I work hard following steps in
textbooks ...my teacher should mark my work and indicate what I did wrong, instead of crossing out only my
answer . . . my efforts should count”. The position of student (StB1) calls for analytic rubric marking instead
of a holistic rubric. According to Burkhardt and Swan [47] analytic rubric marking increases openness and
objectivity. Furthermore, some researchers believe that engaging students in self-assessment can boost their
confidence in their own abilities [48], [49]. Hence, teachers may need to use comments to accompany their
marking for their assessment to be effective.
Student (StA3) stated “my experience is awesome”; Interviewer: Can you please explain what made
your experience awesome? (StA3) responded “my teacher acknowledged my contributions in class, he said he
had learnt from me. He made photocopy of some of the reading materials from my long vacation lessons and
went through my lesson exercise book to see what I was taught. I was happy he identified with my learning”.
A further probe into (StA3) experiences revealed that the teacher devoted some of their time to finding out

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how their students’ vacation was spent, and particular attention was paid to the mathematics content taught
by vacation teachers with the intention of integrating some of the approaches where applicable to ensure
continuity. (StD1) indicated that their experience is stimulating “…I already learnt most of the topics during
the long vacation, prior to our resumption and I helped my friends as well while in school”.
Although there were complaints from some of the respondents based on the shared experiences,
these group of students were seen to be making effort to learn mathematics. The outstanding contributions
the extract from the interviews is making is constant practicing by the students promote the right attitude and
confidence in learning. For example, attending vacation lessons increase the length of time spent by the
students in the learning of mathematics.
However, the school mathematics teacher may need to show interest in what their students learnt
during vacations as a way of authenticating the work done or encouraging the students. Where possible,
integrating some of the approaches or methods used by the lesson teachers might help ensure continuity of
their students’ learning. In addition, reviewing students’ work or exercises (StB 1), step by step, might help
mathematics teachers identify errors and misconceptions and proffer solution.

3.3. Liking or disliking mathematics

The respondents were asked to indicate whether they like or dislike mathematics. Although this may
not look like a good interview question, nonetheless, the item helped to make a connection between the
survey results and the focus group interviews. Their responses were clarified under the two themes of ‘yes’ or
‘no’. About 136 (97%) answered in the affirmative that they like mathematics while four (3%) indicated that
although they do not dislike mathematics, they have some challenges that make it difficult for them to declare
their stand on mathematics. For example, (StH1) submitted, “I feared to think that I will one day write
WASSCE (national examination) because whenever I see any WAEC past questions (Essay section) I wonder
what it was all about”. The second student (StH6) stated, “Learning math bring joy if you succeed but pains if
you don’t…great joy within me whenever I succeeded in math… unfortunately my teacher wouldn’t
acknowledge me because I always score less than half of the total marks…”. Another student, (StD5),
indicated, “I like math but I wish it is more practical like Visual Arts, Home Economics, etc”. Furthermore,
(StG6), said, “I like math but it is too abstract unlike my Geography that is about my environment”. About 30
(out of the 136) students that claimed they ‘like’ mathematics expressed that the subject is too abstract. They
wish for practical ways of delivery and assessment from their teachers.
The submissions by the students (i.e., StH1 and StH6) revealed that although the students had a
strong positive attitude (from the survey), fear of examinations and lack of motivation hinder them from
experiencing the joy that comes from the learning of Mathematics. This may indicate that absence of fear
and/or presence of motivation may help to promote positive attitude towards the learning of mathematics
[44]. Therefore, there is need for teachers to be more practical in their teaching and to continuously
encourage their students, irrespective of whether they are smart or not in mathematics. The fact that they are
present in mathematics class and made some efforts means that some learning must have taken place.
Seeking for immediate observable behavioural change in students may exclude slow learners who genuinely
have the talent to learning mathematics. Furthermore, school management in collaboration with mathematics
teachers should identify and counsel students who have phobia for examinations.

3.4. Reasons for liking or disliking mathematics

Subsequently, the students were asked to state reasons for liking or disliking mathematics. The
responses from those who like mathematics were varied. They range from the utility of mathematics, desire
to pass the national examination (which will help higher learning, useful for future career aspirations),
through personal satisfaction, encouragement from parents, guardian or peers, inspiration from role models,
good teaching strategies by teachers, study group support, the feeling of being exceptional, to the feeling of
having no choice, since the subject is compulsory among other students. One of the interviewees (StH 5)
asked “What is life, without mathematics? Mathematics is used in our daily life... Mathematics is used in the
preparation of even our food. I like math, but learning it is the problem…”. The responses were put into five
themes and discussed. Table 2 presents the five themes as depicted by the participants’ responses.

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Table 2. Reasons for the ‘like’ of mathematics by the participants

Themes Samples
Mathematics is a compulsory subject Mathematics as a compulsory subject
Mathematics relatedness to other field of study
Gain admission
Career aspirations Further career in mathematics related programme
Management of resources
Banking negotiations
Billing customers in business proposals
Good teaching strategies by teachers Giving students room to express their views
Patient from mathematics teachers
Utility of the subject Day-to-day application of mathematics
Time management
Critical thinking
Encouragement from parents, guardians, or peers Encouragement from loved ones
Support from peers
Group work
Teacher-student relationship
Role models’ inspiration

3.4.1. Mathematics is a compulsory subject

Science and business students believe mathematics helps them in other subjects like physics,
chemistry, and accounting, while technical students claim that without mathematics, there would be nothing
like technical drawing. A student (StA1) said, “it is a compulsory subject. I have to learn math, whether I like
it or not…”. Student (StA1) was questioned further, if mathematics was not to be a compulsory subject,
would you have offered the subject? The student responded, “yes I would but my math teacher should be a lot
more practical and more patient”. The demand by students (StA1) for their teachers to be more practical
when teaching mathematics supports [50] position that educational institutions can only respond to labour
market needs by integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Unfortunately, there
is hardly any practical advice to teachers on how these capabilities can be promoted. Another student (StE3)
claimed, “I have no option than to learn math for me to gain admission into university for a programme of
my choice. I must have A1 (credit) in math…”.
Student StI1 claimed, “I just must do well in mathematics to make my parents proud. It is
compulsory in my family to pass math”. Another student, (StA4), said, “I always learn math because no math
means no admission to university”. When the same question was posed to other students, 30 out of the 140
students, despite their strong positive attitudes to mathematics declined to have any relationship with
mathematics if it were not a compulsory subject. This suggests that some of the students ‘like’ mathematics
because they felt obliged to do so. That may explain their struggle with the subject. They do not enjoy
learning the subject, rather, the value of mathematics and their ego propel them to learn the subject.

3.4.2. Career aspirations

With regards to future endeavours, some participants believe that their achievement in mathematics
is linked to their career aspirations. For example, (StD 5) stated that “It will help me to further my career in
mathematics-related programmes as well as gain admission into university”. Meanwhile, (StH5) responded:
“Mathematics would be useful for me in the future as it will help me with the management of resources, like
calculating how many wedding cakes I can bake from 25kg of flour,…., in banking negotiations”. Another
student (StC4) claimed “it would help me with business activities like calculating profit and adding it to the
cost of materials before billing customers in a business proposal”. Thus, teachers could take advantage of the
future aspirations of students while teaching mathematics by making links between the two.

3.4.3. Good teaching strategies by teachers

Lessons are more engaging when the teacher teaches for understanding. This is critical for students'
participation in mathematics. Listening to the students, (StI3) expressed that, “the opportunity to convey my
views in class helps me to retain knowledge gained or improve my level of learning, helps to correct
misconceptions, helps to remember things learnt while writing examinations”. Another student claimed, “I
enjoy math because our teacher is patient and understanding”. In addition, a student (StF4) said, “... Our
‘master’ teaches well...,”. Again, another student retorted, “I love math since we have a nice teacher, she
allows me explain how I understand what she teaches and also allows me to ask questions when I do not
understand”. This means that teachers who use effective teaching methods coupled with an excellent
demeanor are likely to promote learning [43].

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J Edu & Learn ISSN: 2089-9823  191

3.4.4. Utility of the subject

Some interviewees indicated they liked mathematics because it could be utilized in real-life
situations. They claimed that the majority of their daily activities were centred on mathematics. For example,
a student (StI1) stated “Irrespective of the challenges I face in mathematics, it is useful to me in my day-to-
day activities. These include helping our illiterate parents run their day-to-day businesses. It also helps me to
understand other subjects…”. Other students (StH2) stated that “Mathematics helps me think very quickly
when buying things in the market”, and (StG1) indicated that “it helps me manage my time well when writing
an examination because I share the time among the questions to be answered”, and (StB2) that “I am able to
organize my daily activities well using math because I give proportional time to each activity depending on
the importance of the activity”. Likewise, StA1 said “I use math a lot. It saves me time and embarrassment
when I go to shopping mall. I always estimate the sum of the cost of items that I pick before going to the
counter to pay. I also compare the weight (gram) of the items before making my choice. I learnt this from a
movie that I watched”.
Thus, the usefulness of mathematics on a daily basis forms the basis of students’ likeness of the
subject. This confirmed the position of [51] that the benefit attributed to an object predisposes an individual
to take further action in favour of the object. Consequently, teachers could establish a relationship between
mathematics and its utility while teaching.

3.4.5. Encouragement from parents, guardian, or peers

The participants stated that they enjoy mathematics because of the encouragement and assistance
they have gotten from their peers, educators, and parents. Students require assistance when they are having
trouble answering a mathematical problem. Some resolve to work in groups, thereby helping one another. For
example, one student (StE4), expressed their situation “I cannot learn math all by myself. I always have to
consult someone while learning, but it stays after all”. This student’s (StE4) experience supports [52] who
argues that group work or peer learning promotes cognitive restructuring that leads to learning. Another
student claimed that “my teachers and parents always say that mathematics demands more time than other
subjects, hence I should devote myself to it. Now, I spend more time learning math than before. I score higher
nowi”. This narration gives support to some of the studies [53], [54] on the influence of parents, teachers, and
role models on the learning of children or students. This means that it is everyone’s responsibility to support
the learning of the future leaders. (StI1) claimed, “My interaction with my teacher promotes my learning in
several ways. The teacher gets to know my weaknesses...This boosts my confidence level. Consulting with
teachers outside the lesson periods also help me better”.
Other students stated that they liked mathematics because of their role models' inspiration, the
feeling of being exceptional among their peers when they do well in the subject, and personal satisfaction or
enjoyment of the subject. For example, (StA3) “My role models play a significant role in motivating me to
learning mathematics as I always want to excel like them. This goes a long way to make me love
mathematics”. Lastly, (StJ4) claimed, “since I joined a mathematics study group, I have improved,…, my
teacher rush through solution all the time but working in group help me to go at my pace and to seek for help
immediately. I am one of the best students in math in my class, at the moment”. Student (StJ6), indicated, “I
used to fall asleep when solving math, or abandon difficult math problems but working in group help me to
remain focus, because I see others working and they help me when I am stuck”. This implies that teachers,
parents, role models, and peers are crucial in building students’ positive attitudes towards
mathematics [52]–[54].

4. CONCLUSION
The study lends support to the mixed methods explanatory sequential approach. The clarity
produced during the interviews (e.g., the data items from StH 1 and StH6) would have been lost if only survey
was used. Secondly, it was revealed that although the students in this study have strong positive attitude
towards the learning of mathematics, they are faced with some challenges. Nonetheless, they persisted in
their learning of the subject because they valued mathematics for the utility of the subject, their career
aspirations, or admission into higher institutions of learning. This is in line with the theory of planned
behaviour, which indicates how hard people are willing to sacrifice to perform activities they believe will
bring desirable outcomes. Thirdly, the closeness or proximity of some of the students to mathematics, evident
in their vacation extra lessons, seems to boost their confidence. Consequently, since attitude is a predictor of
success, the students are likely to achieve better results in mathematics. Fourthly, the findings also affirm the
findings of some earlier studies on the beliefs of students about the relevance of mathematics in real life. If
students thought that mathematics might be used in their future life, this might change their appreciation of
mathematics and their commitment to mathematical tasks. Furthermore, reliance on national examination
results continue to constitute obstacles to the enjoyment associated with the learning of mathematics. The
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192  ISSN: 2089-9823

data items from some of the students (e.g., StD 5, StG6) in this study confirmed the earlier findings of some
researchers that the way the subject is assessed through time-written examination with no connections
between classroom mathematics and real-life applications hinders the attainment of high-quality mathematics
education as stipulated in the mathematics curriculum. Finally, study groups afford students the opportunity
to discuss mathematics, ask each other questions about the material at hand, encourage the weary ones among
them and provide feedback where necessary without intimidation. This is in line with the finding of some
studies that friendship is necessary for academic success.
Each school, classroom, or set of students is unique. Thus, teachers should endeavour to find out
how students in their classroom use mathematics and promote such adventures while teaching. Promoting
classroom collaboration may help students at their level to open up and receive help where necessary from
one another. Sampling the opinions of students at the beginning of every academic year before teaching
mathematics could create an opportunity for teachers to come to terms with their students' expectations and
maneuver their teachings to meet those expectations. Intermittently, the use of an “add comment” box in the
classroom for students to drop anonymous notes could help the teacher gather information and consequently
design helpful strategies. Furthermore, it may be interesting to find out in future research, the percentage of
junior high students that may be interested in learning mathematics at the senior high level if mathematics is
no longer compulsory for admissions into higher institutions of learning.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The proofreading of the manuscript was done by Professor Jonathan Fletcher of the School of
Education and Leadership, University of Ghana.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Florence Christianah Awoniyi is a lecturer at the Department of Teacher

Education of the School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana. She holds a Ph.D.
degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She has been a
formator of teenagers/young adults for over twenty years in many schools, both in Ghana and
Nigeria. Her research interests are in the fields of mathematics education, teacher
development, gender balance in the teaching and learning of mathematics, concept
development in mathematics, teacher-student relationships, improving the appreciation of
mathematics topics, stress studies and STEM education. She can be contacted at email:
[email protected].

Kwaku Darko Amponsah is a senior lecturer in the Department of Teacher

Education, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry
Education from the University of South Africa, South Africa. His research interests include
gender studies and STEM education, teacher education, teaching and learning
chemistry/science. He can be contacted at email: [email protected].

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