Enhancing Students’ Achievement In Mathematics Through The Usefulness Of Mathematics And Interest: The Mediating Role Of Motivation

Abstract

The usefulness of mathematics in one’s daily life and career cannot be overstated. Mathematics is a required subject in most African countries, including Ghana. Because of the importance of mathematics, it has been declared a requirement for entrance to tertiary institutions. In spite of the importance of mathematics and it being made a prerequisite for tertiary education, the performance of students has been extremely appalling. This study looked at the role of usefulness of mathematics, interest of students and motivation on the achievement of students in mathematics. The study was a survey, and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The population was senior high school student in the Kumasi Metropolis. However, 360 students from three selected schools in the metropolis were randomly sampled through the simple random sampling techniques. Approval was granted by the authorities of the schools where the data was collected. Data was gathered during classes hours, after permissions were sought from the tutors handling the classes at the time of data collection. The path analysis was by Structural Equation Modelling, by using Amos (v.23) software. It was concluded that mathematics motivation partially mediated the relationship between usefulness of mathematics and students’ mathematics achievement. Also, mathematics motivation has a tendency of positively influencing students’ interest in learning the subject.