Attitudes, Study Habits, and Academic Performance of Junior High School Students in Mathematics

Abstract

Mathematics as a discipline is considered as one of the most difficult subjects among Filipino learners. This study was conducted in a public national high school in the Mandaue City Division, Cebu, Philippines. The respondents were the 177 Grade 9 students enrolled in mathematics. These respondents were selected using probability random sampling. They were asked to answer a standardized survey questionnaire to assess their attitudes and study habits. The tool is consists of three parts. Part 1 gathers the socio-demographic profile of the respondents. Part 2 assesses the attitudes of the respondents towards mathematics, while Part 3 was used to assess the study habits of the respondents. Furthermore, their academic performance in mathematics was measured based on their first quarter grade, which was retrieved from the Registrar’s Office. The study revealed that those respondents had positive attitudes towards mathematics in terms of its value while they had a neutral attitude when it comes to their self-confidence, enjoyment, and motivation in mathematics. Also, the study shows that there was a negligible positive correlation between the attitudes and academic performance of the respondents in terms of their self-confidence, enjoyment, and motivation while there was a weak positive correlation between the value of math and their academic performance in math. It was concluded that students’ attitudes and their study habits are significant factors that affect their performance in mathematics. The researchers strongly recommend the utilization of the enhancement plan in the teaching of mathematics to junior high school students.