Author/s:
Kabeera, Pontian*
Beijing Normal University, China (pontiankbr@outlook.com)
Abstract:
Over the years, mathematics has continued to prove an impeccable subject to all students throughout the world. These difficulties have therefore prompted many students to drop the course and opt for the courses considered to be much easier and which students feel they can pass. Therefore the study examines the factors that influences student’s perceptions towards mathematics and was carried out in three selected Rwandan secondary schools. The study took a qualitative case design and it explored the perceptions of high school students towards mathematics in three secondary schools in Rwanda. It further analyzed relationship between the teachers and the students and how this relationship can positively or negatively influence the student’s perceptions towards the general mathematics performance. The research revealed that Language is one of the factors that have influenced the students’ perceptions towards mathematics. It was equally exposed that age greatly influences the way students view mathematics, it highlighted that students from the age of 14-18 usually view mathematics as a hard subject. The study found out that there was a significant discrepancy in perceptions between the ways girls perceive mathematics to boys. The research’s results show that there is a grand relationship between teachers, learning materials, and school administrators’ supports on the self-confidence of students of all ages, gender, beliefs, and attitudes, and thus influence positive attitudes towards mathematics. The study also revealed that gender related factors influence the student’s perceptions towards mathematics, it noted that girls tend to develop a low self-esteem that they cannot out compete boys in mathematics.
Keywords: perception; students; mathematics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2018.3007
*Corresponding Author