Influence of School Type on Girls’ Attitudes Towards Mathematics in Ainamoi Division, Kericho District, Kenya

Abstract

This study explored the influences of school type on girls’ attitude towards mathematics. A total of 200 girls (80 from girls only schools and 120 from Coeducational schools) responded to a three-point rating scale instrument that measured attitudes towards mathematics. The study focused on four aspects of attitudes towards mathematics. These were; students’ confidence in mathematics, their mathematical enjoyment, perceptions of their ability and perceived usefulness of the subject. The reliability index was 0.73 Cronbach alpha which is the accepted threshold for social science research. The study revealed that form four girls generally had a positive attitude towards mathematics. Further, the study revealed that there was no significant difference between girls’ attitude towards mathematics in girls’ only schools and girls in Co-educational schools. However it revealed that there was a statistically significant difference at 0.05 alpha levei in girls’ perception of their ability between girls in girls’ only schools and those in Co-educational schools in favor of those in girls’ schools. The findings are expected to assist the teachers in designing counseling packages for girls especially those in Coeducational schools as early as form one. This might assist in preventing the solidification of stereotypic views about mathematics.