ATTITUDE OF NIGERIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TOWARD MATHEMATICS SUBJECT

Abstract

Attitude is an affective variable that can affect the academic life of students significantly. In Nigeria, attitude in mathematics is among the factors influencing performance in maths subject, especially among primary school students. This study aimed at identifying factors that indicate the student’s negative attitude in maths subject. The population of the study is 1,626 from 6 selected primary schools in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano, Nigeria. A sample of 384 respondents were selected using the Krejcie and Morgan table. A Math Attitude questionnaire (MAQ) was completed by the respondents which measure the students affect, behaviour and cognitive aspects. The data collected were analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). The results show that the respondents are experiencing a negative attitude in maths subject. It is recommended that parents and teachers are required to provide some supportive measures for changing the student's attitude. If a negative attitude among students is not addressed, the career of students will be very limited and their maths performance will be relatively poor as well