Teachers' perceptions of the factors affecting Mathematics achievement of 8th grade students of a selected Maldivian Secondary School / Hawwa Nazima

Abstract

In the recent years, it has been noticed that the Mathematics achievement of 8th grade Maldivian students is decreasing year by year. As the existing studies done on the issue have revealed only few influential factors that affect students' Mathematics achievement, the purpose of doing this study was to explore the issue from a teachers perspective, and find out what they perceive to be the factors affecting the Mathematics achievement of 8th grade students of a selected Maldivian school.
The study employed a qualitative research design in order to achieve the purpose, one of the schools was purposefully selected for the study, and five Mathematics teachers from the school were purposefully selected using set criteria. They were then interviewed individually to collect the data for the study. The data collected was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques. The resulting themes generated were later interpreted and discussed in relation to other data, theories and past studies.
The findings of the study revealed that teachers perceive various issues to be affecting 8th grade students' mathematics achievement. Those issues identified were categorized into parent related issues, studentrelated issues, school related issues and curriculum related issues. As participants highlighted, lack of parental support, the unhealthy relationship between parents and teachers, lack of student motivation. And students having difficulty in grasping new concepts are some factors that affect students' Mathematics achievement. In addition, school related issues, including the teachers themselves, their way of teaching, lack of support from school management, and the ineffective procedures practiced in the school were also perceived to be factors affecting students' Mathematics achievement. As participants believed, Curriculum itself is also a factor that affects 8th grade students' Mathematics achievement.
To conclude the study, the implications of the study findings, limitations of the study and directions for future research were recognized to inform educators, parents and students of some of the factors that contribute to the 8th grade students' Mathematics achievement. This study could be used as a basis for future research.
Keywords: Mathematics achievement, parents, students, school, curriculum