DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS IN ENUGU STATE OF NIGERIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Approval Page
Certification
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Abstract

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Scope of the Study
Research Questions
Hypotheses

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework
Concept of Mathematics
Concept of Gender in Teaching and Learning of Mathematics
Concept of Location in Teaching and learning of Mathematics
Concept of Test Development and Assessment.
Concept of Classroom Learning Environment Research
Concept of Students Perceptions of Mathematics Learning Environment
Concept of Validity
Concept of Reliability
Theoretical Framework
Theory of Constructivism
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory
Classical Test Theory (CTT)
Related Empirical Studies
Studies on development and validation of an instrument
Studies on mathematics classroom learning environment
Studies associated with classroom learning environment assessment instrument
Summary of literature Reviewed

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Research design
Area of the Study
Population of the study
Sample and sampling Techniques
Instrument for data Collection
Validation of the Research Instrument
Reliability of the Instrument
Method of Data Collection
Method of Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
Research Question One
Research Question Two
Research Question Three
Research Question Four
Research Question Five
Research Question Six
Research Question Seven
Research Question Eight
Hypotheses One
Hypotheses Two
Hypotheses Three
Hypotheses Four
Hypotheses Five
Hypotheses Six
Summary of the Findings

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY
Discussion of Findings
Validity of the instrument (MCEAS)
Reliability of the instrument (MCEAS)
Differences in classes as measured in the MCEAS
Gender differential perceptions of students in the MCEAS actual form
Location differences in the perceptions of students in the MCEAS actual form
Location differences in the perceptions of students in the perceptions of students in the preferred form of the MCEAS
Conclusion reached from the findings of the study
Educational Implication of the Study
Recommendations of the study
Limitations of the Study
Suggestions for Further Studies
Summary of the Study
References


Abstract
Despite the important roles mathematics play in Educational advancement, students still lack interest and achieve poorly in the subject. Much emphasis has not been laid on the classroom environment as one of the factors that affect the teaching and learning of mathematics in the school system. Based on this, the researcher delves into the development and validation of an instrument for assessing junior secondary school mathematics classroom environment in Enugu State of Nigeria. The researcher identified some major construct attributes from where 108 items (students actual and students preferred) and 63 items teachers actual forms that constitute the elements of effective mathematics classroom environment came. The constructs were grouped into nine (9) scales. The scales are: Involvement, Affiliation, Teacher Support, Task-Orientation, Cooperation, Competition, Order and Organization, Teacher Control and innovation. The instrument has three sections: students’ actual, students preferred and teachers’ actual forms. These items will enable students to provide information about the learning environment that is present in their classroom (the actual environment) as well as information about the learning environment that they would like to be present (preferred environment). To guide the study, eight research questions were posed and answered while six hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A 100-item instrument for students actual and students preferred form and 60-item instrument for teachers actual forms were constructed from the scales and presented to four specialists in instrument development, for purposes of face validation. After the validation, the 100-items and 60-items were put into four-point response format of Always, Often, Sometimes and Rarely. This was subjected to field trial using students and teachers from two junior secondary schools in Awgu education zone. The data collected from the field trial were subjected to factor analysis to determine the items that were valid and qualify to be included in the instrument for use in the actual study. The result of the factor analysis showed that 29 items of students actual, 24 items of students preferred form and 31 items of teachers actual forms were found to be well loaded and therefore acceptable as suitable for the study.

The 53 items (students actual and students preferred forms) and 31 items (teachers actual forms) were administered to the 43,540 JSS1, JSS11 and JSS111 students and their teachers in the 75 junior secondary schools in Enugu state. One quarter of the entire population of schools were randomized into nineteen (19) schools from three education zones; Agbani, Enugu and Nsukka, considering the urban and rural schools by stractified random sampling techniques. An instrumentation research design was employed using a sample of 1710 students and 63 teachers from 57 classes in nineteen (19) secondary schools of the three education zones in Enugu State to obtain data on students and teachers perceptions of their mathematics classroom environment. Data from the research subjects were analyzed using factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, mean and standard deviation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc test and t-test statistic. A test of reliability using the 53 items and 31 items showed that the instruments were reliable at 0.75, 0.82 and 0.78. Mean perception responses on the influence of gender and location showed that the items are stable across the variables. This result made the researcher to recommend that the instrument MCEAS be used in junior secondary schools in Enugu State to ascertain effective mathematics classroom learning environment. It was also recommended that the instrument should be used by principals, inspectors and ministries of Education in monitoring mathematics classroom learning environment in schools. The students preferred more favorable mathematics classroom environment than was perceived as being actually present. Recommendations and conclusions were made based on the findings.


CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Mathematics plays a great role in the development of science and technology in Nigeria and beyond. It has been conceptualized as a culture which affords man the opportunity to know, access things and objects within his immediate and remote environment (Harbor-Peters, 2000). It forms the basic ingredients to the understanding of science and technology (Ibraheem &

Ogunnusi,  2001).  Different  schools  of  thought  have  different  definitions  of

Mathematics such as Peirce (1881) defined Mathematics as “the science that draws necessary conclusions”. Russell (1903) defined Mathematics “as symbolic logic”. Curry (1951) defined mathematics simply as “the science of formal system”. Maliki, Mgban and Julie (2009), see Mathematics as a subject that affects all aspects of human life at different degrees. The social, economic, political, geographical, scientific and technological aspects of man are centered on numbers. The importance of Mathematics does not only lie in its contributions to scientific and technological development but also in its utility in day-to-day interactions at the market places, transportations, business of all sorts by both literate and illiterate members of the society. The researcher defined Mathematics as a science of measurement which plays a great role in the development of mental activity.....

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Item Type: Project Material  |  Size: 155 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5
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