Student Mathematics Interest in Ghana: The Role of Parent Interest, Gender, Basic School Attended and Fear of Basic School Mathematics Teacher

Abstract

To ensure successful learning and advanced achievement, subject-specific interest is essential. While many factors and strategies  may be important in  building a student’s interest in mathematics, variables such as the type of basic schools attended, parents’ interest in mathematics as well as the fear of imposed on students by their basic school teachers  have not be completely investigated in the Ghanaian education system. Towards this goal, the current paper addresses the effect of parent interest, the type of basic school attended, the fear imposed by basic school mathematics teacher on a student’s interest in mathematics. Using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, data collected from 260 post senior high school student through structured questionnaires was analyzed. The study found that parent interest and value for mathematics significantly influenced students interest and joy in solving mathematical problems. Moreover, we also observed that the fear imposed by basic school mathematics teachers was found to significantly influence students’ interest. The study further found that the type of basic school attended and gender are factors that do not influence students’ interest in mathematics. In addition to concluding that a student’s interest is influenced by both parent interest and the fear of basic school mathematics teacher, the study also showed that the type of basic school attended and gender does not affect the students’ interest in mathematics.