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Students’ perceptions play a significant role in their academic performances. This study
assessed the influence of secondary school students’ perceptions on Mathematics subject
in Tarime district-Tanzania. Specifically, the study sought to identify the kind of
strategies which schools should adopt in order to cultivate in students’ positive attitudes
towards Mathematics subject. The study utilized a mixed approach which adopts a cross sectional research design. The data were collected through questionnaire, unstructured
interview and focus group discussion. Instrument for data collected were tested and were
valid and reliable. The study used the sample size of 154 respondents which comprised
teachers; continuing students and ex-students were involved. The data were analyzed
through descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. In Descriptive statistics, the
Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version21 was used to analyze
data collected from questionnaires. Likewise, the data gathered through the focus group
discussions and unstructured interviews were analyzed thematically. The findings from
this study indicated that 56.7% students had a positive perception towards Mathematics.
The study also found that despite their positive attitude towards mathematics still
performed unsatisfactorily. The study further suggested that the number of mathematics
teachers should be increased. The study recommended that educational stake holders
should implement some initiative that will increase the number of mathematics teachers
in public secondary schools. |
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