Positive attitudes toward mathematics among senior high school students in Cape Coast Metropolis

Abstract

The study involved 2,575 students selected through a combination of probability and non-probability sampling procedures. Explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used. Participants completed the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (FSMAS) to provide the quantitative data for the research. The qualitative data were gathered through interviews. The arithmetic mean from the survey data for each of the students was used to shortlist 140 students for focus group interviews. The findings revealed that some of the impetuses that drive the respondents’ positive attitudes towards mathematics were mathematics as a compulsory subject, good teaching strategies by teachers, the utility of mathematics, career aspirations, and encouragement from parents, guardian or peers. The study recommended that stakeholders should encourage, enhance and promote these factors. Teachers, educators, and researchers are encouraged to dig deeper to unearth more of such factors.