CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION:
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:
Motivating Mathematics Learning.
Education is a fundamental human right and the key to sustainable development, peace and stability within and among countries is the provision of education to the populace of such countries. The learning environment and teachers` motivation upon knowledge development relatively need attention in the field of mathematics teaching and learning. What happens in the classroom between psychological implication of teachers concerning their motivation and the pupils ability to study well has an impact on pupils’ opportunity to learn. The activities in the classroom, the repeated actions in which pupils and teachers engage as they learn are important because they constitute the knowledge that is produced . Availability of teaching/learning resources and teachers` motivation enhances the effectiveness of schools as these are basic things that can bring about good academic performance in the pupils. The educational effort that will be helpful in developing human resources needed is not given much attention. In particular, low quality education in mathematics is an urgent issue to be addressed. Maicibi opined that all institutions or organization are made up of human beings (workers) and other non-human resources [3]. He further asserts that when the right quantity and quality of human resources is brought together, it can manipulate other resources towards realizing institutional goals and objectives. Consequently, every institution should strive to attract and retain the best of human resource. The implication of these opinions is that well trained and motivated teachers in mathematics if well deployed to the secondary schools will bring about well rounded pupils who will perform academically well in mathematics. Most teachers are trained and have clear goals to guide their teaching, but good motivations for the teachers and teaching/learning materials seem to be inadequate. As a result, there has been a public outcry about poor performance in Mathematics at primary school level. When there is motivation and encouragement on the side of the teachers. Although, it is believed that the reward for the teachers is in heaven, but there is no doubt about the fact that if the limited or no motivation for the teachers in terms of incentives and innovation may drastically reduce their morale which may in turn have a negative impact on pupils performance in mathematics. The few teachers on the government payroll are poorly remunerated as a result most of them take up part time employment or private business enterprise in order to make ends means. This greatly reduces their commitment to the teaching of Mathematics (which demands for sacrifice). However, lack of motivations for the teachers may influence their dedication to teaching work. Poor performance of pupils in mathematics may also be as a result of teachers not being dedicated to their duties which may in turn have effects on pupils academic goal setting which apace affect individual who has set lower goals for themselves.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
One of the important factors in realizing educational aims and objectives in mathematics as a subject is the role of the teachers` motivation within the educational set up. The performance of the pupils towards achieving educational goals is said to be very important in most society today. The negative performance of pupils towards an educational aims and objectives could be associated to the low motivation of teachers most especially in the area of mathematics. It is generally believed that children from high and middle socio-economic status parent are better exposed to a learning environment at home because of provision and availability for extra learning facilities and attended a private school while children from a very low socio-economic status family will attend a public school and may not have any opportunity to expose to a better learning environment where teachers are highly motivated. Teachers have the biggest impact on the success and flaws of pupils` academic performance because their teaching motivations are instrumental in helping them learn and one approach is likely to produce different results from another. Teachers` motivation to undertake a task depends on their expected reward. Efficient teaching and moral will take place when there is strong motivation in terms of wages and innovation from both employers, also the pupils` performance in mathematics sometimes may serve as a motivation for the teachers in other to perform efficient in the subject. This motivation may be aroused by either extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli both of which are important in directing and regulating the learner’s behaviour towards attainment of the desired goals. Teachers must therefore be motivated through various ways which may include the organization of seminars and workshops, upgrading test, performance appraisal, timely payment of salary and wage, providing the required physical facilities like laboratories and verbal encouragements etc. This would go a long way in motivating the teachers which will in turn improving the pupils` performance in mathematics.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:
The purpose of this study was to find the best ways to motivate primary school Teachers. The data collection took place in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State,. Data was also, collected from a survey of primary school Mathematics teachers, This study attempted to answer these questions:
- What is the relationship between teacher motivation and teaching and learning?
- How do government and its agencies motivateMathematicsteachers?
DEFINITION OF TERMS
ACADEMICS: A place which is connected with education, especially studying in schools or universities.
PERFORMANCE: How well or badly you do something.
PUPILS: A person who is being taught especially a child in school.
PRIMARY: Main, most important, basic or prime of any event or activity.
SCHOOL: A place where children go to learn.
POPULATION AND SAMPLE
The population consists of pupils in primary schools in Owan west Local Government Area of Edo State. The Local Government was divided into four zones, namely 1. Ora, 2. Uzebba, 3. Ozallaand 4. Sobe.
Research Instrument
The questionnaire dealt mainly with teachers profile based on his/her attitude towards work.
The instrument consists of 20 items. All 110 questionnaires were filled with the response rate 100%, The author used a sample of 100 teachers and ten school heads using stratified random sampling out of which 60 were males and 50 were females.. A purposive sample of 100 teachers who are mathematically inclined and the Ten school Heads participated,totaling 110(one hundred and ten respondents. Using questionnaires, checklists, and achievement score, the study collected information and an unstructured interview schedule / observation method was also used to confirm details andcollaborated the study.
A carefully designed questionnaire which was faced and validated by an expert in the field of mathematics education and which contained a 20 items on the sampled population. The result was gathered for the analysis. The questionnaire contained two sections. Section A sought information on participants’ Bio-data, and section B on motivational strategies for building Teachers in mathematics in Owan west Local Government Area of Edo state.
RESEARCH QUESTION
This study seeks to find answer to the following question:
- To what extent does the condition of service of teachers affect the pupils’ academic performance in mathematics?
- Does teachers` fringe benefit payment have influence on academics performance of the pupils in mathematics?
- To what extent does the teachers` promotion of in-service training affect teachers` performance?
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the effect teachers` motivation on pupils` performance in mathematics in MakurdiLocal Government Area, Benue State.
The specific objectives of this study are to:
- Examine the influence of the condition of service of teachers on pupil’s performance in mathematics.
- Investigate the impact of teachers` fringe benefit payment on pupil`s performance in mathematics.
- Examine if there is a significant effect between teachers` promotion of in-service training and pupil`s academic performance in mathematics.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will help all the tiers of government and private school board to understand the influence of teachers` motivation on pupils academic performance especially in mathematics. It would also enable teachers to structure pupils` education to make them more effective in helping to improving the efficiency of their academic performance. It would be a source of information on how teachers can engage in productive means to ensure the meaningful performance in mathematics. This study would also serve as a tool to clarify issues as to Teachers` Motivation OnPupils` Performance In Mathematics.
Whether teachers` motivation have any influence on pupils’ performance in mathematics and to make recommendations on how school systems can ameliorate the situation.
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The hypotheses for this study were:
- There is no significant effect between the condition of service of teachers and pupils` performance in mathematics.
- There is no significant effect between teachers` fringe benefit payment and pupil`s performance in mathematics.
- There is no significant effect between the teachers` promotion of in-service training and pupil`s performance in mathematics
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