Research Journal of Mathematics and Statistics 4(2):42-44, 2012
ISSN:2040-7505
© Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2012
Submitted: April 13, 2012
Accepted: May 06, 2012
Published: June 30, 2012
Gender Trends in Nigerian Secondary School Students’ Performance in Algebra
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M.V. Atovigba, 2A. Michael Vershima, and 2E.I. O’Kwu and 4Emmanuel Ijenkeli
Mathematical Association of Nigeria, M.A.N., Niger, Science Teachers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria
2
Mathematics Education, Department of Curriculum and Teaching,
Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria
Abstract: The study sought to identify gender trends in Nigerian secondary school students’ achievement in
algebra. A posttest only experimental study was carried out in 2010 which randomly selected 100 senior school
2 students from two schools in Makurdi, Benue State, made up of 50 males and 50 females who were treated
to completion of squares method of solving quadratic equations. The students were thereafter examined using
the Quadratic Equation Roots Test, QERT, instrument to obtain mean scores and variances of both female and
male students. The t-test at 0.05 alpha was used to test significance of difference in mean performance. The
male students performed significantly higher than the female students.
Keywords: Achievement, algebra, completion of squares, female students, male students, quadratic equation
INTRODUCTION
in a study found that females performed less well than
males on geometry and reasoning but females performed
as well as males on algorithmic operations oriented items.
This research is a similar attempt to establish if there
are gender differences in mathematics performance, with
specialty to algebra with respect to Nigerian students.
Algebra is one of the strands of mathematics and is
about finding the unknown or putting real life problems
into equations and then solving them (Rusell, 2009), the
goal in algebra being to find the unknown variables.
There has been global concern about gender differences
in students’ performance in mathematics and some
researches have been undertaken in many parts of the
globe in this respect. Although some researches have
identified gender differences, other studies have that there
are no significant differences in male-female mathematics
performance at any level.
James (2007) studying the United States of
America’s National Centre for Education Statistics’
reports on the 2004 specific proficiencies in mathematics
and the percentage of gender of students who have
reached proficiency in those particular areas, observes
that at each level boys and girls are similarly successful
on the most basic levels but for more complex areas boys
show more proficiency. James attributes this to existence
of cognitive gender differences and accommodations.
The American Psychology Association (2010) on the
other hand reports that in reality girls around the world are
not worse at mathematics than boys even though boys are
more confident in their mathematics abilities and that girls
from where gender equity is more prevalent are more
likely to perform better on mathematics assessment tests.
Alkhateeb (2001) studied United Arab Emirates high
school students and found out that females outperformed
males in mathematics achievement; while Doolittle (1989)
Relevance and significance of the study: This study is
about gender trends in secondary school students’ algebra
performance in Nigeria. The study is relevant as its
findings of the study adds to existing findings about
gender differences in mathematics performance globally
and this further possibly prompts educators to further
research on narrowing existing gender gulfs in secondary
mathematics achievement. It specifically looks at
performance of male and female students of two
different secondary schools in Makurdi, Nigeria in
quadratic equation solving using the completion of
squares method. The quadratic equation itself is an
important equation in that it is used in many areas of
science and engineering (Bourne, 2007) and a good
grounding on the topic becomes compelling as part of
preparing students for useful life after schooling. For
instance, the path of a projectile (e.g., a cannon ball) is
almost parabolic and a quadratic equation is used to find
out where the projectile is going to hit. Also, parabolic
antennas are another application of the quadratic equation.
The Nigerian education curriculum for instance
emphasizes the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities
and competencies both mental and physical as equipment
for the individual to live in and contribute to the
Corresponding Author: M.V. Atovigba, Mathematical Association of Nigeria, M.A.N., Science Teachers Association, Nigeria,
Nigeria
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Res. J. Math. Stat., 4(2):42-44, 2012
development of this society (Olaitan and Ali, 1997). Both
males and females are expected to live useful lives after
leaving school, hence the need to study gender trends to
realize if a particular sex is doing better than another in
mathematics performance.
It also shows that t-calculated of female-male scores
is 2.1984 is higher than two-tail t-distribution table value
of 1.98 at 0.05 alpha level, meaning a ejection of the null
hypothesis thus indicating that the difference in mean
scores of the two groups of students is significant.
Research question: Do Nigerian male students perform
higher than their female counterparts in algebra?
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
The study was experimental. The study observed 100
students randomly chosen from two secondary schools in
Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria including 53 from Trust
Academy (made up of 23 female and 30 male students)
and 47 from Peniel College (made up of 27 females and
20 males). The research thus studied 50 female and 50
male students both of whom were exposed to the solving
quadratic equations with use of the method.
The study obtained data by using the Quadratic
Equation Roots Test (QERT) instrument made up of 10
essay questions out of which 4 were to be solved in 40
min by both groups of students after being exposed to
completion of squares method. The QERT instrument had
been validated by one expert each in test and
measurement and in mathematics education in the
Faculty of Education Benue State University who
assessed and certified its face and content validity. The
instrument was also confirmed to be reliable based on the
inter-rater Cohen’s Kappa K reliability test as two experts
in mathematics education in the Faculty of Education
Benue State University in rating the instruments were in
complete agreement thus giving a k = 1 reliability ratio.
The result of the study is presented in Table 1 which
shows that female students’ mean score was 23.9 with
variance of 302.3367 while the males’ mean score was
32.2 with variance of 410.3673. The data’s t-calculated is
2.984 being higher than two-tailed t-distribution table of
1.98 at 0.05 alpha level.
Table 1 shows that overall mean score of female
students (23.9) is lower than that of male students (32.2).
Table 1 answers the research question: Do Nigerian
male students perform higher than their female
counterparts in algebra? The results show that male
students performed higher in solving quadratic equations
with use of completion of squares method. This implies
that male students achieve higher in algebra than female
students.
Table 1 also answers the null hypothesis H0: There is
no significant gender difference in Nigerian secondary
students’ achievement in algebra. The hypothesis is
answered with t-calculated of 2.984 being higher than tdistribution table of 1.98 at 0.05 alpha level two tailed,
which indicates that there is significant difference in the
means of male and female students thus rejecting the null
hypothesis.
The findings show that there is gender difference in
the achievement of Nigerian secondary school students in
algebra and hence mathematics. This confirms findings
by James (2007) who notes that there are gender
differences in the United State of America in higher
proficiency mathematics which includes algebra.
The study however contradicts reports by the
American Psychology Association (2010) that there are
no significant differences in the performance of boys and
girls in mathematics and contradicts findings by
Alkhateeb (2001) that in the United Arab Emirates high
school females outperformed males in a mathematics
achievements study.
The findings show however that there is generally
low performance of students in algebra as both means
(23.9 for female students and 32.2 for male students) is
low and below the pass mark 45. This confirms
observations by Obodo (2004) and Odili (2007) who point
out that Nigerian students have difficulty in solving
mathematics problems. Similarly, James (2007) laments
that only a few students either male or female graduate
from high school with ability to understand basic algebra.
Table 1:Mean scores and variances of female and male students in
algebra achievement
Sex
Trust academy
Peniel college
overall
Female
Mean score
30.43478
18.33333
23.9000
Variance
181.62060
346.15380
302.3367
Male
Mean score
32.75000
31.83333
32.2000
Variance
811.77630
161.17820
410.3673
t-cal: 2.1984 (using unequal variance method); t0.05: 1.98 (two-tail,
df: 98)
Contribution to knowledge: The research was carried
out in 2010 to identify gender trends in algebra
achievement of secondary school students in Nigeria and
specifically studied 100 students made up of 50 males and
50 females in two schools in Makurdi, Nigeria on solving
quadratic equations using the completion squares method.
The study found out that there are gender differences in
Nigerian students’ achievement in algebra with males
performing higher than females.
Null hypothesis H0: There is no significant gender
difference in Nigerian secondary students’ achievement in
algebra.
METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS
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Res. J. Math. Stat., 4(2):42-44, 2012
REFERENCES
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Obodo, G.C., 2004. Principles and practice of
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Odili, G.A., 2007. Mathematics in Nigeria Secondary
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Olaitan, S.O. and A. Ali, 1997. The Making of a
curriculum: Theory, Process, Product and Evaluation.
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Alkhateeb, H.M.,
2001. Gender differences in
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