High School Students’ Attitude TowardsLearning Mathematics in Adama, Asella andBishoftu Towns

Abstract

Mathematics is a fundamental field of study that plays a pivotal role in the development ofscience, technology, business, and computer science. Due to this, mathematics has beenconsidered as one of the most important core subject in the high school curriculum of Ethiopia.Thus, attitude of students towards leaning mathematics plays a crucial role in the teaching andlearning processes of mathematics, moreover, it has a fundamental input for a sector aiming atpromoting and controlling quality of education in high schools. The purpose of this study was toinvestigate the level of students’ attitude towards leaning mathematics as well as somebackground factors associated with it among high school students in Adama, Bishoftu and Asellatowns. A purposive stratified random sampling technique was used to select eligible respondents.Cross-sectional data were collected from 982 high school students about: 1) their attitudetowards learning mathematics by using a five point Likert scale type of modified Fennema-Sherman mathematics attitudes scales questionnaire and 2) some background factors that mightinfluence their attitude towards learning mathematics through structured questionnaire. Thedata were analyzed by using the chi-square test and the logistic regression model. The result ofthe analysis revealed that 59% of the respondent students had shown unfavorable attitudetowards learning mathematics. The results in the chi-square statistic and logistic regressionmodel indicated that there were strong association between students’ attitude towards learningmathematics and gender/sex, performance, absenteeism, parents’/guardians’ educational level,student’s personal confidence, teacher’s motivation, teaching methods and peers support. Butstudents’ attitude towards learning mathematics was not significantly associated with highschool type, knowledge of usefulness of mathematics and educational value held by thefamily/community. Finally, the study forwarded some recommendations for education offices,teachers, families of students and other stake holders to improve high school students’ attitudetowards learning mathematics in the study area.