“At-Risk” Students Self-Efficacy Level and Attitudes Towards Mathematic in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

Several studies exist in literature on the attitude of students towards mathematics and the self-efficacy level of students in mathematics in general. However, little is seen on the attitudes of “At-Risk” students towards mathematics and their self-efficacy level in mathematics, hence this study was conducted to fill the gap in literature by examining the attitudes and self-efficacy level of the “At-Risk” students towards/in mathematics in the Upper East Region of Ghana. This investigation is a quantitative one which made use of a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from 104 “At-Risk” students who were selected using multiple sampling techniques. Adopted attitudes towards mathematics inventory by Tapia (1996) and adapted self-efficacy questionnaire by May (2009) were the instruments of data collection. The data collected were analyzed descriptively (means and standard deviations) which were compared with standard levels of interpretations in literature and judgment made. From the analysis of the data, it was found that “At-Risk” students have low mathematics self-efficacy level and moderate attitudes towards mathematics. It was therefore recommended that mathematics teachers should employ innovative and child-centered teaching approaches which have the potential of actively engaging learners during instruction in the subject to help enhance learners’ attitudes and self-efficacy level in mathematics.