Influence of Teaching Approaches on Senior High School Students’ Mathematical Mindset

Abstract

Reviewing bodies have shown that a high percentage of SHS students tend to underperform in mathematics examinations. In that respect, we examined the influence of two teaching approaches on Ghanaian public Senior High School students’ mathematical mindsets. A quantitative research design was used, that is, an ex post facto research design was used for this study. A total sample of 366 respondents was involved in this study. Two sets of questionnaires were employed for the study which are the students’ perceptions of teaching approaches and mathematical mindset questionnaires. Descriptive analysis such as means and frequencies were used to analyze the data. The results revealed a possible influence of the teaching approaches students experienced and their mathematical mindset. That is, students taught with a student-centered approach were found to generally possess a growth mindset while those identified as possessing a more fixed mindset were mostly students taught using a more teacher-centered approach. The study recommended that teachers should adopt a student-centered approach to teaching since it has the potential to shape students’ mindset toward a strong growth mindset, as students who have a growth mindset are more likely to succeed in school and beyond.