Factor Affecting Student`s Achievement in Mathematics: The Case of Agarfa Secondary School, Ethiopia

Abstract

Students` academic problem in the achievement of mathematics education prevails persistently in Agarfa secondary schools. Performance in Mathematics by students has been lower in comparative to other science subjects. This study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to the low achievement of Mathematics by students. The study was to determine to what extent students’ factors, parent factors, Mathematics teachers’ factors and school factors and management factors affect students’ Mathematics achievement and to establish the strategies that can be adopted to improve students’ achievement in Mathematics. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study was carried out on 221 students, 9 Mathematics teachers’, 5 principals and vice- principals of the school. Respondent students were selected with random probability sampling techniques. Questionnaires’, class observation and document analysis were employed for data collection. Data collected from the respondents were coded and entered in to the computer for analysis using SPSS version-20 for windows. The multiple linear regression result and descriptive statistics were applied for data analysis. Findings reveal that student’ factors, students’ parent factors, Mathematics teachers’ factors, school factors and management factors were the factors that affects students’ achievement in Mathematics. Students’, Mathematics teachers’, school administrators, parents and District Education office expected to benefit from the findings. Therefore, it was suggested that teachers, parents, school administrators, supervisors, communities and other stakeholders should be cooperatively more practical in this area of improvement.