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ABSTRACT
This research work examined the
Difficulties Encountered by Students in Solving Algebraic Problems in Surulere
Education District of Lagos State. The design used for the study was a
descriptive survey for collecting data from a sample of one hundred and twenty
students and fifteen mathematics teachers from four senior secondary schools
selected. The instrument used was questionnaires for students, questionnaires
for teachers and diagnostic test for the students on algebra. Chapter one of
this work is introduction which deals with the background of the study,
research questions, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the
study, chapter two include the literature review of the previous researchers,
the importance of mathematics and algebra, difficulties students encountered in
solving algebraic problems, effect of the prerequisite knowledge of students in
algebra, possible solutions to the difficulties encountered by students in
solving algebraic problems, chapter three discusses the research methodology,
chapter four discusses presentation and analysis of the data collected from
teachers and students. Chapter five deals with the summary, discussion,
recommendations and conclusions.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGES
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TITLE
CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE STUDY
1.6 SCOPE
AND LIMITATION OF THE
STUDY
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEWING THE
LITERATURE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 THE
IMPORTANCE OF MATHEMATICS AND ALGEBRA:
2.3 DIFFICULTIES
STUDENTS ENCOUNTERED IN SOLVING ALGEBRIC PROBLEMS
2.4 EFFECT
OF PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS IN
ALGEBRA
2.5 POSSIBLE
SOLUTIONS TO THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE STUDENTS IN SOLVING ALGEBRAIC
PROBLEMS
2.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
3.1 THE
DESIGN OF THE STUDY
3.2 AREA
OF THE STUDY
3.3 POPULATION
OF THE STUDY
3.4 SAMPLE
AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.5 RESEARCH
INSTRUMENTS
3.6 METHOD
OF DATA COLLECTION
3.7 METHOD
OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR : DATA PRESENTATION AND
ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODCUTION
4.2 PRESENTATION
OF DATA
4.3 ANALYSIS
OF DATA
4.4 TEST
OF HYPOTHESIS
4.5 ANALYSIS
AND PRESENTATION OF RESULT
4.6 MISTAKES
MADE BY THE STUDENTS
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION
AND CONCLUSION
5.1 SUMMARY
5.2 RECOMMENDATION
5.3 CONCLUSION
5.3.4 FOUNDATION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Education is seen as the best means
for developing the potentialities of young and adult learners so that they can
in turn make meaningful contribution to the development of the society.
Education in Nigeria is an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national
development (National policy on Education, 2004). It is generally recognized
that no society or nation can make only significant progress without relevant
education.
According to Ivowi (2003), national
development can only occur if there is a crop of human resources with
sufficient knowledge and skills to interact with ideas and materials in order
to produce the required result. The development of an individual started from
his early childhood particularly at primary school (Owolabi, 1991).
Mathematics can be defined in
various ways but according to the Oxford dictionary (1982) it is the “science
of numbers”. Mathematics is also referred to as the acquisition of the ability
by an individual to apply deductive and inductive, reasoning to real life
situation.
Abiodun (1989) states that
Mathematics is the core of all educational objective so to indulge people into
functioning effectively and efficiently especially in an age of modern
technology. It requires the person studying it to acquire the in
depth knowledge of mathematics so that he or she can understand the
theories of the subject.
Ames(1992) said that Mathematics
enhances problem solving skills and analysis skills of
students. It enables students to apply their skills to both familiar and
unfamiliar situations.
Dale (2008) describes Mathematics as
a base for all technologies. All innovations are by product of
science and mathematics. It is applied in medicine, engineering, natural
science, social science, physical science, technology, business and commerce.
It is necessary in learning computer science, computers are to be found in
banks, hospitals, universities etc. they are used by accountants, doctors,
teachers, research scientists, students and many others, all these becomes a
reality as a result of the importance of mathematics in all aspects of human
life.
Butler (1960) describes mathematics
as the bedrock of all human knowledge. This is because mathematics has
been in the forefront of human endeavours to
understand his environment and be able to aggregate all factors in
it, to make life comfortable for him. Hence mathematics embraces many branches
of science and highly required in many spheres of life
regardless of the manner of level of application.
Kenku (1988) defines mathematics as
the language of science. He further explains that mathematics could be better
defined as the study of numbers, shapes, physical systems and their
relationship.
Mathematics plays a major part in
the human daily lives, it started with counting, by the primitive man, this
led to computation argument and logical thinking followed. It is
common knowledge that mathematics is allocated the greatest number of period in
the secondary school’s timetable, however students perform least in it.
The objective of teaching
mathematics in Senior Secondary school are:
1. To
generate interest in mathematics and lay a solid foundation for everyday
living.
2. To
develop pupils computational skills.
3. Encourage
creativity and provide necessary mathematical background for further education.
4. To
develop ability to be accurate to a degree relevant to the problem at hand.
5. To
develop ability to recognize problems and to solve them appropriately and
relate to mathematical knowledge.,
6. To
develop precise, logical and abstract thinking.
Don Small (2002) Identified high
school preparation, placement, syllabus, content, face, attitude, lack of
persistence, determination and pedagogy etc as the main factors that contribute
to poor performance of student in mathematics.
Many children growing into the
adulthood have developed negative attitude towards algebra (Brekke, 2001)
students easily understand algebra and it is a source of
consideration, confusion and negative attitudes among students.
According to Encarta premium (2006)
He defined algebra as a branch of mathematics in which symbols
(usually letters) reqpresents unknown numbers in mathematical
equations algebra allows the basic operations of arithmetic’s, such
as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to be
performed without using specific numbers. Mac Gregor (2004) listed
the reasons why students should be helped to easily understand algebra and
solve problems in it. Amongst which are:
First, algebra is a vital part of
the general knowledge of numbers in a democratic society secondly, it is
pre-requisite for further study of mathematics, thirdly it is a crucial
component of mathematical literacy, fourthly it is an efficient way of solving
certain types of problems, finally, it promotes generalizations, organized
thinking and deductive reasoning which are keys to intellectual activities.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Mathematics in Nigeria education is
a core and compulsory subject, an important aspect of which is algebra.
Although teachers often teach students this aspect of mathematics,
researchers have shown that there is a low output in terms of students
performance in algebra (Ignacio, 2006). This indicates that many students at
SSS t level do not have a good grasp of the algebraic aspects of mathematics.
According to Edgeton (2000), the
teaching of algebra is not allowed to grow out of direct experience and most
algebraic ideas are simply handed over by the teacher than
helping students to discover them.
According to Okello 2010 and Parker,
(1999) most problems encountered by students include:
i. Teachers
inability to teach the fundamentals of algebra i.e guides students to discover
how generalizations in algebra are derived.
ii. The
use of inappropriate methods in the teaching of algebra.
iii. Lack
of motivation
iv. Lack
of practice
v. Lazy
students
vi. Poor
use of resources. These problems need urgent attention and are
likely to affect our national development if not handled adequately.
1.3 PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to
investigate the difficulties encountered by S.S.I students in
solving Algebraic problems in Surulere Local Education District of
Lagos State, Nigeria.
The
objectives of the study are to:
1. Identify
the difficulties that students encounter in solving
algebraic problem at S.S. I level.
2. Identify
the various factors contributing to the difficulties faced by students
while solving algebraic problems.
3. Assess
student’s level of performance in algebra S.S.T level in the study
population.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The
following research questions were proposed for this study.
1. What
are the problems encountered by students at SS1 level in solving algebraic
problems?.
2. What
factors give rise to these problems?
3. What
is the level of performance of students in algebra in the study sample?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE STUDY
This study will be particularly useful
to senior secondary school mathematics teachers as it will give them insight
into the problem faced by students at the immediate higher
level, hence they will be better equipped to groom their students adequately.
It will be as well of benefit to curriculum
developers in time tabling and other administrative process concerning this
unique subject. It is also useful to S.S.S.I students so as to identify the
solution in solving problems algebra in senior secondary school.
1.6 SCOPE
AND LIMITATION OF THE
STUDY
The Study covered Senior Secondary
School selected from Surulere Local Government Education District of Lagos
State.
The possible limitation to the study
were financial and time constraints.
TOPIC: DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS IN SOLVING ALGEBRAIC PROBLEM IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
Format: MS Word
Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email
Delivery: Email
Number of Pages: 65
Price: 3000 NGN
In Stock
Format: MS Word
Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email
Delivery: Email
Number of Pages: 65
Price: 3000 NGN
In Stock
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