Influence of school culture on students’ attitude towards the learning of mathematics Subject: A Case of Ward secondary schools in Arusha District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study sought to establish the influence of school culture on students’ attitude towards the learning of mathematics subject among ward secondary schools in Arusha District, Tanzania, through descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlational Coefficient, using the SPSS. The study sample was 297 respondents out of 1,300 form three students from seven out of 17 secondary schools. Validity was ensured through expert review and the pilot study’s analysis yielded the Cronbach’s Alpha of above 0.7 for each variable. Respondents disagreed that school administration avails computerized application for mathematics. However, teachers encouraged students to foster confidence in learning mathematics; they gave students opportunity to answer questions and used differentiate methods to explain mathematical concepts. Because of rewards given by teachers, students were encouraged to work hard and they liked working with numbers. There is a significant positive yet weak correlation between students personality and the learning environment (Sig=000, r=.245), between personality and students’ participation (Sig=.000, r=.385) and between personality and guidance from teachers (Sig=000, r=.419). The school environment and students’ participation enhanced students’ personality, while guidance from teachers enhanced the personality of students toward mathematics. The study recommends that the school management should maintain appropriate learning environment for better results in mathematics subject.

Keywords:

School culture, attitude, mathematics, learning, Arusha, Tanzania