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A Comparison of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Coeducational Secondary Schools’ Mixed and Gender Streamed Classes in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya

Received: 17 August 2015    Accepted: 02 September 2015    Published: 16 September 2015
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Abstract

The study compared mathematics teachers’ attitudes towards mixed sex and gender streamed (boys’ and girls’ only) classes all organized in public coeducational secondary schools of Nakuru, Uasingishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya. An ex post facto causal comparative research design was used. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 20 co-educational secondary schools each from two school categories (county and sub-county) and types (those with mixed sex and gender streamed classes). Two mathematics teachers from each class type were selected from each school based on gender stratification where possible giving a total of 203 teachers. A mathematics teachers’ attitude questionnaire named (MTAQ) was used to collect data. This instrument was piloted and validated to improve it before use and a reliability coefficient of 0.87 using Chronbach alpha obtained. This was considered appropriate as it was within the accepted threshold of 0.70 and above in social science research. The collected data was then analyzed using both descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation and percentages) and inferential statistics (ANOVA) at a confidence level of 0.05. The results of the study revealed that mathematics teachers’ attitudes were lower towards girls’ only classes as compared to boys’ only and mixed sex classes in both county and sub-county co-educational schools. The statistical tests of significance show that there were statistically significant differences in county schools’ mathematics teachers’ attitudes while there were no significant differences in sub-county schools. The results from the study have yielded valuable information that may be used to inform the intervention in Kenya’s coeducational secondary schools and advice policy makers, teachers and administrators of the schools on appropriate measures to undertake to enhance its effectiveness in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

DOI 10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18
Published in Education Journal (Volume 4, Issue 5, September 2015)
Page(s) 238-244
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Coeducational Secondary School Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes, Gender Streamed (Boys’ and Girls’ Only) Classes, Mixed Sex Classes, Mathematics, Kenya

References
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[2] Ahuja, O. P. (2006). World-Class High Quality Mathematics Education for all K – 12 American Students, Department of Mathematical Science, Kent State University. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, ISSN 1551 – 3440, Vol 3 No. 2, Pp.223 – 248 © The Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
[3] Carr, M. (2000). The Role of Context and Development from Lifespan Perspective. In W. Schneider and F. E. Weinert (eds.). Interactions among aptitudes, strategies and knowledge in cognitive performance. New York: Spring Verlag, 222 – 231.
[4] Chouinard, R. (2008). Coeducational of Single-Sex School: Does it make a Difference on high School Girls’Academic Motivation? Educational Studies, 34(2), 129-144.
[5] Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education (5th ed). London & New York: Routledge Falmer.
[6] Fryer, R., & Levitt, S. (2010). “An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Vol.2 (2), pp.210-240.
[7] Gall, P. G., Gall, M. D. & Borg, W. R. (2007). Educational Research. An Introduction (8th ed), Pearson Education. Inc.
[8] Gina, E. & Moshe, T. (2001). Teachers’ Perceptions of their Students Gender Roles. The Journal of Educational Research. Available online; http://www.highbeam.com/doc/IGI 95631113.html.
[9] Hiken, (1982). Psychological Testing and Assessment 4th ed. London, Ally and Becon Inc.
[10] Hodgen, J., & Marks, R (2013). The Employment Equation: Why our Young People Need More Maths for Todays Jobs. London.
[11] Husen, T & Postlethwaite, T. N. (1991). Cognitive Styles. In The international encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 2, pp868-871) New York, Pergamon press.
[12] Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). The year 2003 – 2013 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examinations (KCSE) Candidates Performance Reports. Nairobi: KNEC.
[13] Kreiter, R. & Kinicki, A. (2007). Organizational Behavior, Arizona: McGraw – Hill Ryerson.
[14] McCoy, S., Smyth & Burke (2012). “The Primary Classroom: Insights from the Growing up in Ireland Survey”Economic and Social Institute Working Paper.
[15] Mukwa, C. W. & Too, J. K. (2005).Gender and Classroom Challenges of Teaching Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Kenya. Journal of Education and Human Resources, Vol. 3 No. 2: pp 116 – 127, Egerton University
[16] Norris, E. (2012). Solving the Maths Problem: International Perspectives on Mathematics Education. London.
[17] Offsted (2011).Good Practice in Primary Mathematics. Manchester: Offsted.
[18] Pahle, E., Hyde, J. S., & Allison, C. M. (2014).The Effects of Single- Sex Compared with Co-educational Schooling on Students Performance and Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis. American Psychological Association.doi:10.1037/a0035740.
[19] Rennie, L. J., & Parker, L. H. (1997).Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Single-Sex and Mixed-Sex Mathematics Classes. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 9, (3), 257-273.
[20] Rose, M. (2005). Lives on the Boundary, New York: Penguin Books.
[21] Teo, (2008). Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Computer Use: A Singapore Survey. Australian Journal of Educational Technology 24 (4), 413 – 424(online) Available: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/aget 24/teo.html.
Author Information
  • Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Education Management, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya

  • Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Education Management, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya

  • Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Education Management, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya

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    A. C. Barmao, B. N. Githua, J. M. Changeiywo. (2015). A Comparison of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Coeducational Secondary Schools’ Mixed and Gender Streamed Classes in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya. Education Journal, 4(5), 238-244. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18

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    A. C. Barmao; B. N. Githua; J. M. Changeiywo. A Comparison of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Coeducational Secondary Schools’ Mixed and Gender Streamed Classes in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya. Educ. J. 2015, 4(5), 238-244. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18

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    AMA Style

    A. C. Barmao, B. N. Githua, J. M. Changeiywo. A Comparison of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Coeducational Secondary Schools’ Mixed and Gender Streamed Classes in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya. Educ J. 2015;4(5):238-244. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18,
      author = {A. C. Barmao and B. N. Githua and J. M. Changeiywo},
      title = {A Comparison of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Coeducational Secondary Schools’ Mixed and Gender Streamed Classes in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya},
      journal = {Education Journal},
      volume = {4},
      number = {5},
      pages = {238-244},
      doi = {10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20150405.18},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.edu.20150405.18},
      abstract = {The study compared mathematics teachers’ attitudes towards mixed sex and gender streamed (boys’ and girls’ only) classes all organized in public coeducational secondary schools of Nakuru, Uasingishu, Kericho and Baringo Counties of Kenya. An ex post facto causal comparative research design was used. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select 20 co-educational secondary schools each from two school categories (county and sub-county) and types (those with mixed sex and gender streamed classes). Two mathematics teachers from each class type were selected from each school based on gender stratification where possible giving a total of 203 teachers. A mathematics teachers’ attitude questionnaire named (MTAQ) was used to collect data. This instrument was piloted and validated to improve it before use and a reliability coefficient of 0.87 using Chronbach alpha obtained. This was considered appropriate as it was within the accepted threshold of 0.70 and above in social science research. The collected data was then analyzed using both descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation and percentages) and inferential statistics (ANOVA) at a confidence level of 0.05. The results of the study revealed that mathematics teachers’ attitudes were lower towards girls’ only classes as compared to boys’ only and mixed sex classes in both county and sub-county co-educational schools. The statistical tests of significance show that there were statistically significant differences in county schools’ mathematics teachers’ attitudes while there were no significant differences in sub-county schools. The results from the study have yielded valuable information that may be used to inform the intervention in Kenya’s coeducational secondary schools and advice policy makers, teachers and administrators of the schools on appropriate measures to undertake to enhance its effectiveness in the teaching and learning of mathematics.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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