STUDENTS’ PRACTICE OF MATHEMATICS AND ITS EFFECT ON THEIR NUMERICAL SKILLS IN PROBLEM-SOLVING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN FAKO DIVISION, SOUTH WEST REGION OF CAMEROON

Abstract

For several decades mathematics has been called the “critical filter”, because students who are inadequately prepared in mathematics during secondary school lose many career choices that would otherwise be available to them. Also, for those students who pursue post-secondary education in Cameroon, success in O-Level mathematics is a pre-requisite for most degree programmes in business, computing and the sciences. This makes mathematics very pivotal in reshaping the future and students’ attitude towards mathematics an area of concern. Negative attitudes towards mathematics are damaging, leading to disengagement, increased anxiety and lack of confidence, and reluctance to try to improve skills. Cameroon needs graduates with advanced mathematics skills to promote innovation, data synthesis, and technology if it is to solve challenging problems and be competitive in the global scenario. This study examined students’ practice of mathematics and its effect on their numerical skills in problem- solving in secondary schools in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon. The objective is to find out whether students’ practice of mathematics has any influence on their numerical skills in problem-solving. The mixed research methodology with convergent parallel design was used. The target population comprised 6350 form five students from secondary schools in Fako Division. The accessible population was made up of 1036 students and the sample size of the study was made of 512 form five students from six colleges using the random sampling technique. There were also 26 teachers and 6 Heads of Mathematics Department. Data was collected using questionnaire and interview guide. Instruments were validated and the reliability coefficients gave satisfactory values of 0.75 and 0.743 for students’ and teachers’ questionnaire respectively. The statistical analyses and findings reveal that students’ practice of mathematics has a positive correlation with their numerical skills in problem-solving. It was recommended that: (1) problem-solving should be part of each curricular unit and begin in kindergarten. For this to be effective, the teaching of problem-solving should not be isolated, instead, it can serve to support and enrich the learning of mathematics concepts and notation. (2) teachers should cultivate students’ interest in mathematics as early as possible. Varying classroom instruction practices could be a remedy to enhance students’ understanding, achievement, and motivation in learning mathematics.