Differential Influence of Demographic Variables on Dyscalculia Dimensions

Abstract

Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty that affects an individual's ability to perform mathematical tasks. The research was aimed at investigating whether gender and age have a differential influence on the number sense, arithmetic operations, and working memory dimensions of dyscalculia. The research design was an expo facto research design. The population was all 87320 junior secondary school 1 and 2 students in Obio-Akpor local government area. The sample consists of 453 students who have been diagnosed with dyscalculia. This sample was randomly drawn using a multistage sampling procedure. A standardized instrument, the Dyscalculia Test by Eteng-Uket, was used for data collection. High validity and reliability indices were obtained for the test. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, one-way, and two multivariate analyses of variance. The result showed that gender and age independently and in interaction had a differential influence on dyscalculia dimensions, but this differential influence was not significant. Based on these findings, it is recommended that educators use a variety of individualized instructional strategies and materials, including visual aids, manipulatives, and adaptive technologies that are effective for different genders and age groups of dyscalculics