The Perception of Teachers on the Quality of Primary School Mathematics Textbooks in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Education is the backbone of national development, and books are the principal element in the educational process. Basic education is the foundation upon which all levels of societal development are predicated. Research works have indicated that textbooks deliver the curriculum and they are the most important instructional material available to the teachers and children in developing nations. Textbooks play a central role in the teaching and learning of mathematics. It is imperative that mathematics textbooks provide correct content and instructional support. They are also one of the most important and vital elements that aid effective and efficient teaching-learning process. However, there is ample evidence that the books used in schools in some parts of the world, Nigeria inclusive, are below standard. Difficult and poorly written textbooks in the primary schools were seen as contributing to the high rate of early drop-out in Nigeria. This study therefore evaluates the quality of mathematics textbooks in Oyo State, Nigeria. The ex-post facto type of descriptive survey research design was used. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select 8 schools each from seven (7) of the eight (8) Educational zones (making a total of 56) in Oyo State. The study revealed that there is need for publishers and authors of textbooks to improve on print, quality of paper, illustration, exercises, diagrams, pictures, language, local example, colour combination, back cover, size, durability, presentation, font size, binding and finishing of mathematics textbooks.