Abstract: Mathematics is a subject in the school curriculum that has a specialised language with a set of words and symbols that have unique meanings used internationally. Mathematics performance results at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (KCSE) have constantly been poor over the last decade nationally and also in Nakuru County. Findings of most studies partly attribute learners’ poor performance in mathematics to ineffective teaching methods practiced by mathematics teachers and the use of specialized language. The purpose of this study was therefore to to determine gender difference in mathematics achievement among students exposed to Embedded Mathematics Language Factor Teaching in Secondary School in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study used Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Control Group design. The target population was 1300 form two students in Nakuru County. A total sample of 180 students and their teachers was drawn from four selected Co-educational Secondary Schools. Purposive and simple random sampling were used to select the schools and the particular streams to be involved in the study. Consulting experts in the School of Education, Laikipia University, determined validity of research instruments. Five different instruments namely Understanding of Mathematical Terms Test (UMTT) whose reliability coefficient was 0.7831, Understanding of Mathematical Symbols Test (UMST) whose reliability coefficient was 0.762, Understanding of Mathematical Structures Test (UMSrT whose reliability coefficient was 0.840, Mathematical Achievement Test (MAT whose reliability coefficient was 0.782 and Mathematics Classroom Observation Schedule (MACOS) whose reliability coefficient was 0.771 were used to collect data. The finding of this study also showed that gender did not affect students’ achievement in mathematics when students were taught using EMLF strategy (t(80)=0.918, p=.844). The EMLF learning strategy reduced gender disparity in achievement of secondary school mathematics. The findings of this study will benefit mathematics teachers, curriculum developers, policy makers, school inspectors and teachers trainers with a view to improving performance in mathematics achievement and understanding of mathematics in secondary schools.
Keywords: Gender, mathematics.
Title: Gender difference in mathematics achievement among students exposed to Embedded Mathematics Language Factor (EMLF) Teaching in Secondary School in Nakuru County, Kenya
Author: James Njubi Ndekei, Dr. Mwebi Robert Bisonga
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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