Effect of Gender Difference on the Mathematics Performance of Secondary School Students in Lokoja, Kogi-Nigeria

U.E. Onate¹ , S.U. Umoren²

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.7 , Issue.12 , pp.48-54, Dec-2021

Online published on Dec 31, 2021

Copyright © U.E. Onate, S.U. Umoren . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

View this paper at   Google Scholar | DPI Digital Library

XML View     PDF Download

How to Cite this Paper

Abstract :
This study was purported to investigate gender difference and performance in mathematics among secondary school two students in Lokoja. The study set out to achieve three hypotheses of the significant effect of mathematics teacher sex, student sex and school sex type on students’ performance in mathematics. A sample of 440 senior secondary two students were surveyed in 11 government secondary schools in Lokoja and the multiple regressions model in SPSS version 23 was employed to analyse the data. The results showed that mathematics teacher sex, student sex, and school sex type differences do not affect students’ performance in mathematics. It is therefore recommended that more female mathematics teachers should be employed and trained to help increase the positive performance tendency gotten in this study, and an appropriate number of all-boys, all-girls and mixed-sex secondary schools need to be established to close any gap on gender inequality. More so, interventions on this research should be built around liberal feminism, radical feminism, flow and Piaget’s learning theories.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Gender Difference, Teacher Sex, Student Sex, School Sex Type, Performance in Mathematics.

References :
[1] D.P. Arum, T.A. Kusmayadi, I. Pramudya, “Students’ Logical-Mathematical Intelligence Profile,” Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 1008, pp. 1-9, 2018.
[2] H.O. Ali, “Factors affecting Students’ Academic Performance in Mathematical Sciences Departments in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria,” From Knowledge to Wisdom, US – China Education Review, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 905-913, 2014.
[3] N.C. Ikechukwu, “Gender inequality in education: Implications for socioeconomic development in Nigeria,” Sapientia Foundation Journal of Education, Sciences and Gender Studies, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 257-266, 2020.
[4] T. Gazura, “An overview of Issues and Concepts in Gender Mainstreaming,” Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1-21, 2017.
[5] Commission of the European Communities, “Report on equality between men and women -2008,” DGESE Publisher, Luxembourg, 2008a.
[6] J.K. Wangusi, I.O. Abuya, “Gender fairness initiative and performance of female journalists: A case of media industry in Kenya,” International Journal of Scientific Research in Multidisciplinary Studies, Vol. 6, Issue 2, pp. 1-8, 2020.
[7] U. Harikrishnan, G.L. Sailo, “Challenges of school going adolescent: Perceptions of parents and teachers,” International Journal of Scientific Research in Multidisciplinary Studies, Vol. 6, Issue 2, pp. 12-15, 2020.
[8] R.W. Connell, “Growing up Masculine: rethinking the significance of adolescence in the making of masculinities,” Irish Journal of Sociology, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 11-28, 2005.
[9] U. Kessels, “Fitting into the stereotype: How gender-stereotyped perceptions of prototypic peers relate to liking school subjects,” European Journal of Psychology of Education, Vol. 20, pp. 309-323, 2005.
[10] T.L. Adepoju, “A study of secondary school students’ academic performance at the Senior school Certificate Examination and implication for educational planning and policy in Nigeria,” An interdisciplinary Journal, Ethiopia, Vol.5, No. 6, 2011.
[11] S.C. Ogu, “National Policy on Education and performance of Secondary School Students in Nigeria,” Scribd Ariticle, pp. 1-15, 2016.
[12] A. Datnow, L. Hubbard, “Gender in policy and practice: Perspectives on single-sex and coeducational schooling,” Routledge and Falmer Publisher, New York, 2002.
[13] L.J. Sax, L. J. “Women Graduates of Single-sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and Transition to College,” Sudikoff Family Institute for Education and New Media Publisher, 2009.
[14] L.R. Musgrave, “Liberal Feminism, from Law to Art: The Impact of Feminist Jurisprudence on Feminist Aesthetics,” Hypatia, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 214–235, 2003.
[15] S. Acker, “Feminist Theory and the Study of Gender and Education,” International Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 419-435, 1987.
[16] J. Spencer, “Making learning flow: Using Flow Theory as a framework for creative work and student engagement,” In the proceedings of 2017 Conference presentation of the Institute for Personalised Learning, Milwaukee, WI, United States, 2017.
[17]. J. Piaget, Theories of Learning, In P.H. Mussen (Ed.), Carmichael’s manual of child psychology, Vol. 1, (3rd ed.), John Wiley & Sons Inc. Publisher, New York, 1970.
[18] L.I. Brown, G.Y. Kanyonko, “Gender differences in mathematics performance in Trinidad and Tobago: Examining affective factors,” International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 113-130, 2010.
[19] A.O.A. Awofala, L.M. Nneji, “Effect of Framing and Team Assisted Individualized Instructional Strategies on Students’ Achievement in Mathematics,” African Journal for The Study of Educational Issues, Vol. 4, No. 3,4, pp. 75-89, 2011.
[20] C. Nwihia, “Gender Difference in academic achievement of students in Kinankop Sub County, Nyandarua County, Kenya,” European Journal of Social Sciences Studies, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 19-35, 2020.
[21] B.O.A. Raheem, “The influence of gender on secondary school students’ academic performance in South West, Nigeria,” Journal of Social Science, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 93-98, 2012.
[22] K. Muhammed, “Gender Difference in Math Anxiety and Mathematics Performance of Secondary School Students in Bauchi State,” International Journal of Education and Evaluation, Vol. 3, No. 11, pp. 26-31, 2017.
[23] I. Kennedy, O.E.A. Dickson, “The influence of gender on junior secondary school students’ attitude towards mathematics in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State,” African Research Review, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 115-126, 2016.
[24] A. Ali, Mushtag, M.A. Shah, M.A. Raheem, “A Comparative Study of Gender Differences in Attitude towards Mathematics,” Merit Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Soil Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 12, pp. 130-133, 2017.
[25] M. Csikszentmihalyi, “Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life, (1st ed.),” Basic Books Publishers, New York, P. 31, 1997.
[26] J.C. Anyanwu, “Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to Africa, 1980-2007,” Working Paper Series, No. 136, African Development Bank Publication, Tunis, Tunisia, 2011.
[27]. J.F. Hair, W.C. Black, B.J. Babin, R.E. Anderson, “Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.),” Pearson Education International publisher, Upper saddle River, New Jersey, 2010.
[28] D. Mundy, “A Question of Response Rate,” Science Editor, Vol. 25, 1, pp. 25-26, 2002.
[29] G.D. Garson, “Missing values analysis and data imputation,” Statistical Associates Publishers, Asheboro, NC, 2015.
[30] J.W. Osbome, A. Overbay, “The Powers of Outliers (and why Researchers should always Check for them),” Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, Vol. 9, No. 6, pp. 1-8, 2004.
[31]. A. Field, “Discovering Statistics using SPSS (4nd ed.),” SAGE Publisher, London, 2013.
[32] A.Z. Ngharen, C.E. Akogwu, “Gender Equality, Education and Sustainable Development in Nigeria in the 21st Century: An Appraisal,” International Journal of Advanced Studies in Economics and Public Sector Management, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 203-214, 2017.