Analysis of Topics Perceived Difficult by Pre-service Mathematics Teachers and Lecturers in Colleges of Education in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the topics perceived as difficult by pre-service mathematics teachers and Mathematics lecturers in Colleges of Education in Niger State, Nigeria. One Hundred and seven (107) 300 level Pre-service Mathematics Teachers and Seventeen (17) Lecturers were purposively selected from two (2) Colleges of Education in Niger State, Nigeria. A twenty-three items questionnaire named Mathematics Topic Analysis Questionnaire (MTAQ) with two sections was administered to respondents (Pre-service Mathematics Teachers and Mathematics Lecturers). The questionnaire was validated by experts, and its internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data analysis was done using Mean and Standard deviation and independent sample t-test. A criterion means of 2.5 was set as the basis for judgment. A mean score of 2.5 and above indicated an easy topic, while less than 2.5 indicated a difficult topic. Findings revealed that Pre-service Mathematics teachers perceived 9 topics as difficult to comprehend while 3 topics were perceived as difficult to teach by Mathematics lecturers. The study also showed that Pre-service Mathematics teachers’ gender has no significant influence on their perception of difficult topics in mathematics. It was therefore recommended that students should be encouraged and motivated to learn mathematics, curriculum developers should develop instructions that would improve students’ knowledge by laying more emphasis on the perceived difficulty areas in mathematics and further studies should be conducted to find out the factors responsible for the perceived difficulty and also if there is a relationship between perception and students’ achievement.