INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STUDENTS' OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCES, ACHIEVEMENT IN AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS IN METROPOLITAN ZARIA
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AMONG STUDENTS' OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCES, ACHIEVEMENT IN AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS IN METROPOLITAN ZARIA
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Date
1987-04
Authors
ABUBAKAR, OCHEPA ISA
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study was designed to investigate the interrelationships
among students' occupational preferences,
achievement in, and attitude towards mathematics in
metropolitan Zaria of Kaduna State.
The investigation was carried out with the fifth
form students offering the general mathematics syllabus
in Zaria area of Kaduna State. There were nine secondary
schools with such fifth form students and of these, seven
schools with form five student population of 2,121 were
accessible for the study. A random sample of 50 students
per school was chosen, giving a total of 350 students from
the seven schools.
Data were collected through the use of questionnaires
and informal interviews. The questionnaire included an
adapted form of the Mathematics Attitude Scale (MAS)
developed by Shumway and White (1981). The questionnaire
also sought information about the respondents preferred
occupations. Mathematics achievement scores were obtained
from the mock G.C.E. examination results from the
Education Resource Centre (ERC) Zaria.
After the data collection, the Pearson productmoment
and biserial correlation coefficients were calculated
to determine the nature of the relationship between
the chosen variables of the study. The results were
used to test three null hypotheses of the study and the
findings revealed that:
(a) There is a significant high positive correlation
between students' achievement in mathematics and
their attitude towards mathematics.
(b) There is a significant positive relationship
between students' attitude towards mathematics
and their preferred occupations.
(c) Students' preferred occupations positively and
significantly correlated with their achievement
in mathematics.
It was concluded that students' achievement in,
and attitude towards mathematics are not only related
to each other but each of them also correlates significantly
with students' preferred occupations.
Description
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA
NIGERIA.
Keywords
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS,, STUDENTS,, OCCUPATIONAL,, PREFERENCES,, ACHIEVEMENT,, ATTITUDE,, TOWARDS,, MATHEMATICS,, METROPOLITAN,, ZARIA.