TEACHER FACTORS INFLUENCING USE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN YOLA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

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ABSTRACT

Studies have established that when pupils are taught using mother tongue they comprehend and perform well in mathematics and sciences. However, frequent teaching mathematics in English language by teachers in lower primary schools in Yola south local government area contributes to low performance of pupils in mathematics. This study aimed to investigate to what extent teachers use mother tongue in teaching mathematics in lower primary school classes. The objectives of the study were to; establish the extend to which teachers use mother tongue in teaching mathematics, to find out the influence of teachers‘ training on use of mother tongue in teaching mathematics, to determine the influence of teachers‘ teaching experience on use of mother tongue in teaching mathematics, to find out the influence of teachers‘ motivation on use of mother tongue in teaching mathematics and to determine the challenges faced by teachers while using mother tongue to teach mathematics. The study was guided by social constructionist by Robert Craig. This study used descriptive research design. The study targeted a population of 1,211 teachers in lower primary school classes in Yola South local Government. The researcher employed multistage random sampling techniques to select the sample. Sample size 126 teachers of lower primary school class. Data was collected using questionnaires. A pilot study was carried out in two primary schools. Validity of the instruments was tested using content validity. Test re-test method was used to determine the reliability of the instruments at a correlation coefficient

(r) of 0.75. data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS was used to analyze quantitative data and results were presented in tables. Results from the study showed that, majority of the respondents always used mother tongue in teaching counting and recognition of numbers. Quantitative results revealed that teachers rarely used mother tongue in teaching mathematics. Qualitative data from class observation also showed that teachers rarely used mother tongue in teaching mathematics in lower primary school classes. The study therefore, recommended that School Board of Management should sponsor teachers to attend training programmes to learn how to use mother tongue in teaching in lower primary schools.