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British Journal of Contemporary Education
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2023 (pp. 1-21)
1 Article DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
www.abjournals.org
ABSTRACT: While many researchers have investigated the
causative factors of students’ poor academic performance, the
extent to which teachers’ individual characteristics affect
students’ performance in mathematics, to the best knowledge of
the researcher, has received little academic attention. This
necessitated the study. The study adopted a convergent parallel
mixed methods design involving three hundred and seventy-two
(372) respondents who were sampled through Simple Random
Sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaires and
interview guides were used to collect primary data and this was
complemented by an extensive literature review. The analysis of
the collected data revealed that teachers’ qualifications, teachers’
choice of methodology, teachers’ mastery of content, teachers’
punctuality to class and teachers’ relationship with students affect
students’ performance in mathematics in Sagnarigu Municipality.
It was recommended among other things, that the stakeholders in
education should ensure that only teachers who are qualified to
teach mathematics are assigned to do so in all Senior High
Schools within the Sagnarigu Municipality.
KEYWORDS: Performance, Mathematics, Teachers, Students
TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN
MATHEMATICS
Abdulai Boare Iddrisu1*, Christopher Saaha Bornaa2, Dennis Offei Kwakye3,
Stephen Atepor4, Ayishetu Gariba5 and Felli Gideon Kupule Adobaturu6
1Department of Mathematics, Kalpohin Senior High School, P. O. Box 137, Tamale, NR,
Ghana
*Corresponding Author’s Email: abdulaiboare@gmail.com
2Department of Mathematics and ICT Education, School of Science, Mathematics and
Technology Education, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences,
Navrongo, Ghana. Email: cbornaa@cktutas.edu.gh
3Department of Mathematics and ICT Education, School of Science, Mathematics and
Technology Education, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences,
Navrongo, Ghana. Email: dokwakye@cktutas.edu.gh
4Department of Mathematics and ICT Education, School of Science, Mathematics and
Technology Education, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences,
Navrongo, Ghana. Email: satepor@cktutas.edu.gh
5Students’ Affairs, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo,
Ghana. Email: agariba@ckyutas.edu.gh
6School of Graduate Studies and Research, C. K. Tedam University of Technology and
Applied Sciences, Navrongo, Ghana. Email: gfelli@cktutas.edu.gh
Cite this article:
Abdulai B.I., Christopher
S.B., Dennis O.K., Stephen
A., Ayishetu G., Felli G.K.A.
(2023), Teacher
Characteristics and Students’
Performance in Mathematics.
British Journal of
Contemporary Education 3(1),
1-21. DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-
JYJUYEUT
Manuscript History
Received: 3 Jan 2023
Accepted: 20 Jan 2023
Published: 17 Feb 2023
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of
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NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND
4.0), which permits anyone to
share, use, reproduce a nd
redistribute in any medium,
provided the original author and
source are credited.
British Journal of Contemporary Education
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2023 (pp. 1-21)
2 Article DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
www.abjournals.org
INTRODUCTION
Many countries around the world attach great importance to education because it is vital to the
transformation of humanity and its societies. Witte (2022) argues that education is the
cornerstone of civilisation, where young people are trained to take on various responsibilities
and work together to stabilise the society in which we live. While formal education has changed
considerably in the West, it is still evolving in many parts of the global South, particularly in
sub-Saharan Africa (Shikalepo & Hautemo, 2021). For many education stakeholders in Africa,
retooling education to meet the needs of the industry remains a daunting task. Many education
systems in Africa still promote rote learning without attempting to induce critical thinking and
innovative ideas in students (Cieslik et al., 2021). Such systems accustom students to rote
memorisation to the extent that they tend to avoid subjects like mathematics that require them
to think independently.
Many scholars share in the argument of Adler and Alshwaikh (2019) that Mathematics is the
foundation of modern scientific and technological development and an important means of
communication that is persuasive, concise and clear (Adetunde, 2009; Akyeampong, 2017; Ali,
2021; Arthur, 2019; Arthur et al., 2014). Mensah (2017) further explains that Mathematics as
a discipline is fundamental to science and technology and its functional role in science and
technology is multifaceted, as such, no field of science, technology or business in the world
can be separated from its application. Fletcher (2018) finds that the history of Mathematics has
influenced cultures and continues to influence cultures to this time. Almost everyone uses some
form of Mathematics in their daily lives. This suggests that learning Mathematics is not
something to be taken for granted. Ali (2021) argues that the main purpose of teaching
Mathematics is to develop students' ability to solve a range of complex mathematical problems
through the application of Mathematics to real-life situations.
In Ghana, the Mathematics curriculum encourages the use of Mathematics in everyday life by
identifying and applying appropriate strategies to solve mathematical problems (Mensah,
2017). Akyeampong (2017) finds that many Mathematics education programmes in Ghana
emphasise the development of problem-solving skills and competencies that enable students to
function both in and out of school. Thus, the Mathematics curriculum in Ghana requires
students to learn how to relate their knowledge to practical situations, build critical thinking
skills, make strategies, spawn ideas and imaginative solutions and decipher everyday scientific
problems (Adetunde, 2009; Adler & Alshwaikh, 2019; Akyeampong, 2017).
However, Senior High School students in the Sagnarigu Municipality continue to deteriorate
in their achievement in Mathematics as shown by the reports of their performance in WASSCE
(SMED Report, 2013-2020). Casinillo et al. (2020) find that most students believed that good
performance in Mathematics is mainly due to skill rather than effort. Prior to this study,
Bosson-Amedenu (2018) also investigated the causes of poor student performance in
Mathematics in Ghana and found that teacher effectiveness, home environment, school
environment and staff strength were high predictors of student success in Mathematics, but the
association between students' perceptions of Mathematics and student performance in
Mathematics was low. In addition, Butakor and Dziwornu (2018) found that student and
teacher involvement was statistically significant in forecasting the Mathematics achievement
of Senior High School students in The Greater Accra Region. Fletcher (2018) also found a
statistically significant association between students' background and their Mathematics
achievement. Marbán and Mulenga (2019) further found that many students see poor
British Journal of Contemporary Education
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2023 (pp. 1-21)
3 Article DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
www.abjournals.org
performance in Mathematics as a situation which they have little control over. Bosson-
Amedenu (2018) also finds that students’ attitudes towards Mathematics significantly
determine their Mathematics achievement. Erath et al. (2021) discussed 'meta-belief system
activity' based on a learning experiment and found that students' belief systems about
Mathematics were strong predictors of learning outcomes.
Although these researchers have examined the impact of school physical resources, teacher
qualifications and students’ perception on students’ achievement in Mathematics, they failed
to examine the extent to which teacher characteristics such as professional experience, mastery
of content, academic qualification, choice of methodology, teacher’s punctuality in class and
personal relationship with students affect students’ performance in Mathematics. While few
studies investigated the effects of teacher qualities on students’ academic performance,
(Bhagat et al., 2019; Khalilzadeh & Khodi, 2021; Kim et al., 2019), such studies were not
specifically focused on performance in mathematics and, methodologically, they adopted a
qualitative approach. This paper examined the extent to which teacher characteristics predict
the mathematics achievement of Senior High School students in the Sagnarigu Municipality
using a mixed methods approach. The study raises a number of questions: What is the effect of
teachers’ qualifications on the performance of students in mathematics in the Sagnarigu
Municipality? What is the effect of teachers’ choice of methodology on students’ performance
in mathematics in the Sagnarigu Municipality? How does the level of content mastery by
mathematics teachers affect the performance of students in mathematics in the Sagnarigu
Municipality? How does the teacher-student relationship affect students’ performance in
mathematics in the Sagnarigu Municipal? How does teachers’ punctuality in class affect the
academic performance of students in mathematics in the Sagnarigu Municipality? Answers to
these questions will inform policy formulation in addressing teacher-related factors of poor
students’ performance in mathematics.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Despite the idea that teachers are not the primary source of knowledge in the classroom,
teachers' traits and actions are largely used to evaluate students' academic success. The teaching
profession is going through a transformation. Therefore, experienced teachers who are willing
to collaborate and share ideas are those who have been in the teaching profession for a long
time. Conversely, newly trained teachers were less likely to adopt new ideas outside of what
they had learned in college. Student's academic progress is seen to be correlated with teachers'
actions, traits, and behaviour both within and outside the classroom. The poor performance of
students in recent times is attributed to the traits and characteristics of teachers in the classroom.
The study, therefore, seeks to examine teachers’ characteristics as one of the contributing
factors to students’ poor academic performance in mathematics.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the study was to:
a. research the impact of instructors' qualifications on Sagnarigu Municipality students'
mathematics performance.
b. ascertain the impact of teachers' choice of methodology on Sagnarigu Municipality
students' mathematics performance.
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c. determine the extent to which mathematics teachers' content knowledge affects their
students' mathematics performance in the Sagnarigu Municipality.
d. research how relationships between teachers and students in the Sagnarigu Municipality
affect students' mathematics performance.
e. research the impact of teachers’ punctuality in class on students' mathematics
performance in Sagnarigu Municipality.
LITERATURE/THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING
The Self- Determination Theory (SDT) indicates that social, cultural and biological conditions
can either enhance or undermine human capacities for cognitive and psycho-social growth and
development (Reeve, 2002). Deci and Ryan (2012) argue that SDT is particularly important in
the academic setting because students perform differently just as humans flourish uniquely in
other contexts. Vallerand et al. (2008) advance the argument further when they explain that the
promising potentials of students are diminished in uncongenial social settings. SDT emphasises
what humans really need from their social environment to be fully functional and competent.
The SDT theory as applied to this study would mean that the potential of students in passing
Mathematics could be enhanced by a congenial school environment which does not only have
the needed facilities but is staffed with teachers who are academically and professionally
competent and socially supportive. These will provide the academic, psychological and social
needs of students and enhance their cognitive and psycho-social growth and development
which would in turn improve educational outcomes
Ryan and Patrick (2009) insist that social and psychological needs are universally essential for
optimal human functionality regardless of age, gender, cultural or social context. Reeve (2002)
identifies the environment as being either autonomy-supportive or controlling competence-
supportive or challenging, and integrative or ejective. Deci and Ryan (2012) associate
themselves with Reeve’s categorisation of the social environment and further explain that an
autonomy-supportive environment provides choices and encouragement for individual self-
actualisation, a competence-supportive environment provides structures and positive feedback
for the actualisation of an individual’s potential and a relatedness supportive environment is
integrative, devoid of conflict and full of love, care and closeness from peers, subordinates and
superiors.
Apart from the supportive relationship students may need from teachers, Peeters et al. (2018)
insist that a teacher's qualification is also a very important determinant of students’
performance in the classroom. Ambussaidi and Yang (2019) observed that among fifth-year
teachers, more experienced teachers worked in classrooms with less emotional climate. Smith
et al., (2016) also observed that experienced teachers had different ways of making students
understand difficult topics in mathematics than inexperienced teachers. They further observed
that teacher academic qualification was less significant in instructional quality than teacher
experience. Klassen and Chiu (2010) also found that students whose teachers were friendly and
related well with their students showed more interest in studying mathematics than those whose
teachers were reported to be cold and less approachable.
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Akinsolu (2010) found that novices were less effective in preparing lessons and had difficulty
responding to students' questions and ideas. In a study of four experts and two novice teachers,
Gage et al. (2017) find that experienced teachers were more likely to take their time and prepare
their lesson plans while paying attention to more details while newly recruited teachers
hurriedly prepare lesson notes and poorly executed their lesson plans in the classroom. Harris
and Sass (2011) also find that teachers who are ready to work together and share ideas are those
who have spent many years in the field of teaching and are ready to share and learn from their
colleagues but those who just came from training were less likely to take new ideas other than
those they learnt from college. They concluded that students who are taught by such teachers
are less likely to perform well compared to those taught by teachers who are cooperative and
ready to learn from their colleagues. This means that teacher experience affects instructional
quality. Killion (2015) demonstrated that the length of years spent in school by teachers did
not predict teachers’ effectiveness in mathematics teaching but experience on the job was found
to be significant in students’ achievement in Mathematics. While these researchers established
the link between teachers’ levels of experience and students’ performance in general, they did
not investigate how teachers’ levels of experience affect students uniquely in the subject of
mathematics.
Newman (2019) also identified teachers’ qualifications as one of the teacher -related factors
that affect students’ academic performance. A systematic analysis of twelve studies related to
teacher qualification and student achievement in mathematics by Ambussaidi and Yang (2019)
also demonstrated that teachers who had high academic qualifications had their students
consistently scoring higher in standardised tests and examinations. They concluded that there
is a strong association between teachers' academic qualifications and students’ academic
performance. Another study by Kim and Seo (2018) revealed mixed findings. They found a
strong association between teaching quality and teachers’ academic qualification among first-
year teachers but found no such association in the second and third-year classes. They
explained that such variation in the relationship between classroom quality and teacher
experience was due to the tendency of first-year students to be more engaged in their academics
than continuing students. Klassen and Chiu (2010) in their study also found that only between
4% and 6% of the variance in teaching quality was explained by teachers’ academic certificates.
One reason for these low estimates may be that few studies have closely aligned teacher
mastery of content with teachers’ years in school. Such alignment between Mathematics
content courses and the effectiveness of lesson delivery may lead to stronger relationships
between teacher academic qualification and students’ achievement in Mathematics.
In a study by Marbán and Mulenga (2019) involving three hundred ( 300 ) high schools in
Nigeria, teachers’ professional qualification in Mathematics was statistically significant in
explaining the quality of Mathematics lessons that were taught as there were adequate
explanations where students ask questions and no teacher errors during lessons. In another
study involving primary school teachers, Miller et al. (2017) found a close association between
teachers’ level of professional qualification and the level of comprehension of students during
mathematics lessons. Ronfeldt et al. (2018) further observed that a teacher’s professional
qualification was significant in arousing students’ interest in Mathematics. Schachman,
Rochelle, Hertel, and Knudsen (2010), however, made contradictory findings when they
observed that teachers’ professional qualification was significant in predicting students’
attitudes towards Mathematics but less so in predicting their actual rate of achievement in
Mathematics. While the authors admitted that their study was based on self-reported data, they
British Journal of Contemporary Education
Volume 3, Issue 1, 2023 (pp. 1-21)
6 Article DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
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also suggested that the effects of teacher professional qualification on students’ performance
in Mathematics may not be linear as found by many studies.
These findings generally suggest that teachers’ professional qualifications are impactful on
students’ academic performance, although the mechanisms by which teacher qualification
explains educational outcomes may be complex and require further research. These studies also
did not pay particular attention to how teachers’ qualification affects students in mathematics.
They also failed to consider other characteristics of teachers such as content mastery and the
quality of their relationship with their students as predictors of students’ academic
performance. These, therefore, made this study even more necessary and relevant
METHODOLOGY
A research philosophy depicts the ontological convictions of a researcher (Guha Thakurta &
Chetty, 2015). There are varied views of researchers about the world. These have given rise to
varied research philosophies such as realism, idealism, positivism, social constructivism,
pragmatism and postmodernism (Birks, 2014). Realism is the belief that the world is outside
there and can be subjected to scientific study. Idealism believes the world is made up of ideas
and what we see as reality are reflections of ideas which have been translated into realities that
we can study. So, for them, the study of physical realities does not provide complete insight
into the nature of things. Positivism argues that the world is objective, measurable and
quantifiable and that the reality of the world is independent of the knowledge of the individual
(Cazeaux, 2017). Social Constructivism on the other hand argues that the reality of the world
is subjective and dependent on the knower. Knowledge is constructed by individuals within a
specific context based on their experiences. Pragmatism is the synthesis of both positivism and
social constructivism (Saunders & Townsend, 2018). They believe that reality is both
subjective and objective, constructed and measurable, dependent and independent of the
knowledge of the individual. What matters is that knowledge should address the problems of
society. Post-modernism on its part believes that nothing is certain; thus, reality moderates and
complicates, so there is no certainty. Research can only measure reality only at the time the
research was conducted but this cannot be generalised and fixated because reality keeps
changing (Lee & Saunders, 2017; Saunders & Townsend, 2018; Saunders & Bradbury, 2006).
For this study, the pragmatist philosophy was adopted because the researcher believes that
knowledge is measurable, objective, and independent of the knowledge of the individual, and
it is also constructed by individuals during social interactions. At some points, knowledge is
objective and measurable, and at other points, knowledge is better understood within a
particular context. Whether students perform well in mathematics or not is objective,
measurable and better understood within a particular social context. That the content mastery
of the teacher affects students’ performance in mathematics or not is objective, measurable and
is better understood within a specific social context. The impact of students' and teachers’
characteristics on students’ performance in mathematics is equally objective and measurable
but the concepts of performance may vary across societies depending on what value is placed
on mathematics and education as a whole and this leans itself to the social constructivist
analyses. To better measure the phenomenon of students’ performance in mathematics, a
pragmatist philosophy was deemed fit as a philosophical framework for this study. For this
study, informed by the pragmatist research philosophy, the mixed methods approach was
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DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
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adopted because the researcher intends to measure the characteristics of the teacher that affect
students’ performance in mathematics using both the quantitative and qualitative approaches.
The Study Area
Sagnarigu Municipality is located in the Northern Region of Ghana. It is bordered by Savelugu
Municipal to the North, Tamale Metropolis to the south, Tolon district to the west and
Kumbungu district to the East. The Municipality has a land area of approximately 114.29
square kilometres and is located between latitudes 9.4687º north and longitudes -0.8654º west
and has an elevation of 189m (G.S.S, 2021). The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS, 2021) reports
that the population of Sagnarigu Municipality is approximately 342000 and of this 50.6% are
males and 49.4% are females. There are 23,447 households in the Municipality, with an
average household size of 6 persons (G.S.S, 2021).
The Municipality was chosen because it has the highest number of Senior High Schools in the
region. The Municipality is the cradle of education in the region as it has four government-
aided high schools namely; Tamale Senior High School, Northern Business Senior High
School, Islamic Senior High School and Kalpohin Senior High School, as well as a polytechnic
and two colleges of education. The Municipality also has the Tamale School of Hygiene, the
Community Health Nursing School and the Graduate School of the University for
Development Studies. There are other private educational institutions in the Municipality. The
Regional Education Office is also located in the district.
The dominant religions in the Municipality are the Abrahamic religions- Islam and
Christianity- which have strict rules on relations between men and women, urging women to
submit to their husbands at all costs (Glas & Spierings, 2019). The culture and the Islamic
religion permit polygamous marriages, so 75% of married men in the municipality have more
than one wife (G.S.S, 2021). Sagnarigu Municipal is dominated by the Dagomba ethnic group,
which, like many other cultures in the north, has a patrilineal inheritance system whereby only
men can inherit the property of their deceased parents (Chigbu, 2019).
Research Approach and Sampling Technique
The study was conducted using a mixed-method approach so that it could make use of any
research tool or technique as needed and as it applied without being constrained by one
particular methodology. This study made use of the convergent parallel mixed method design.
This methodology was chosen because it allowed the researcher to gather both qualitative and
quantitative data almost simultaneously, analyse them, and combine them when interpreting
the findings. Cross-validating the data was made possible by this method. There were no
notable discrepancies between the outcomes of the quantitative and qualitative data. The
quantitative data were collected via a questionnaire. This offered the study more statistical
power and enabled the researcher to collect data from a broader group of students and teachers.
To collect the qualitative data, key informant interviews with management employees were
done. This made it possible to get thorough data regarding the effects of teacher traits on
students' mathematical performance.
The four public senior high schools in the Sagnarigu Municipality; Tamale Senior High School
(TAMASCO), Northern School of Business (NOBISCO), Tamale Islamic Senior High School
(TISEC), and Kalpohin Senior High School (KALISCO), were the focus of the study. Because
they are important to school stakeholders and have pertinent knowledge about students' math
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performance as well as the physical and social resources that are available within the schools
for teaching and learning, the students and academic staff (teachers and management staff)
were chosen as the target population. Their experiences would have given them in-depth
knowledge of the instructors' qualities, such as the teachers' qualifications, punctuality in class,
content mastery, teaching methodology, and the teacher-student relationship. Three thousand,
four hundred and ninety-five (3,495) students and one hundred fifty (150) academic staff
members attend TAMASCO. There are three thousand, three hundred and twenty-seven
(3,327) students enrolled at NOBISCO, with one hundred and twenty-one (121) academic staff
members. Two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-six (2,956) students attend TISEC, and there
are one hundred and twenty (120) academic staff members. Two thousand, five hundred and
ninety-three (2,593) students attend KALISCO, and there are one hundred and eighteen (118)
academic staff members. The head teacher, assistant head teachers for academics,
administration, and domestic duties, senior housemaster, and senior house mistress make up
the six (6) management staff members for each of the four (4) schools. Table 1 displays the
distribution of the target population.
Table 1: Distribution of target population
School Name
Student Population
Academic Staff Population
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
TAMASCO
2,428
1,067
3,495
105
45
150
NOBISCO
2,370
957
3,327
77
44
121
TISEC
1,831
1,125
2,956
74
46
120
KALISCO
1,531
1,062
2,593
70
48
118
TOTAL
8,160
4,211
12,371
326
183
509
Source: Field Data, 2021
Four thousand, two hundred and eleven (4,211) female students and eight thousand, one
hundred and sixty (8,160) male students are represented in all four schools, according to Table
1. Twelve thousand, three hundred and seventy-one (12,371) students attend all four schools.
Three hundred and twenty-six (326) male academic staff members make up the total in all four
institutions, compared to one hundred and eighty-three (183) female academic staff members.
The academic staff population, therefore, stands at five hundred and nine (509) for all four
schools.
The target population for the study is made up of the twelve thousand, eight hundred and eighty
(12,880) students and academic staff that were enrolled in the study as a whole. Three hundred
and seventy-two (372) respondents were chosen for the study using Cochran's technique for
determining sample size. The Nominal Rolls of each school were used to create a list of all
students for the selection of the sample. All students were included in the final sample at a 90%
representation rate because they made up more than ninety per cent (90%) of the target
population. Therefore, three hundred and thirty (330) students were ultimately chosen at
random from the created lists using Microsoft Excel.
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All the mathematics teachers and academic management staff members who had backgrounds
in mathematics in the various schools under consideration were purposively targeted for the
study since they are directly involved in the day-to-day teaching and learning of mathematics
in all four schools. TAMASCO, NOBISCO, TISEC and KALISCO have a mathematics teacher
population of twenty-two (22), nineteen (19), eighteen (18) and sixteen (16) respectively. This
gives a total of seventy-five (75) mathematics teachers in all four schools. Each school has six
(6) academic management staff namely; the headmaster/mistress, an assistant headmaster in
charge of academic affairs, an assistant headmaster in charge of administration, an assistant
headmaster in charge of domestic affairs, the senior housemaster and the senior house mistress.
This gives a total of twenty-four (24) academic management staff.
Thirty (30) mathematics teachers; nine (9) from TAMASCO, eight (8) from NOBISCO, seven
(7) from TISEC and six (6) from KALISCO were selected. Twelve (12) key management staff
members, who had backgrounds in mathematics were also selected to participate in the study.
This gives a total sample size of three hundred and seventy-two (372) participants. Table 2
provides an overview of the sample used for the investigation.
Table 2: Distribution of sampled population
School Name
Student Population
Math Teacher Population
Management Staff
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
Total
TAMASCO
65
28
93
7
2
9
2
1
3
NOBISCO
63
26
89
6
2
8
2
1
3
TISEC
49
30
79
5
2
7
2
1
3
KALISCO
41
28
69
4
2
6
2
1
3
TOTAL
218
112
330
22
8
30
8
4
12
Source: Field Data, 2021
DATA INSTRUMENTS
Questionnaire and Interviews were used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire was
used to gather quantitative data from respondents where they were required to show their levels
of agreement or disagreement with statements provided on a five-point Likert scale. There were
two sets of questionnaires. There was a questionnaire for students and one for academic staff.
Sections A of the questionnaire for both students and academic staff gathered data on the
demographic characteristics of the respondents such as age, gender, years of stay in the school,
and level. Items in this section were adapted from Sengul, Zhang, and Leroux (2019) and Plana
et al., (2018). Sections B and C of the questionnaire for both students and academic staff
respectively gathered data on teacher characteristics such as punctuality in class, content
mastery, teaching methodology, teacher qualifications, student–teacher relationships and
academic performance of students in mathematics including students’ math test results from
the preceding two semesters, the researcher’s math test results, and overall school success in
WASSCE over time. The contents for these sections were adapted from Schukajlow et al.,
(2018). Sections B and C of the questionnaire for students and academic staff responses were
scored on a Five-Point Likert scale, with Strongly Disagree receiving a score of 1, Disagree
receiving a score of 2, Can’t Say receiving a score of 3, Agree receiving a score of 4, and
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DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
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Strongly Agree receiving a score of 5. According to Creswell (2014), a researcher can code
and transform the data into numerical values for simple analysis using the Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The Cronbach Alpha reliability measure was used to
check the reliability of the items from the scores of a pilot test. This gives an alpha level of
0.86 and 0.82 for the students and staff questionnaire respectively.
A semi-structured interview was self-constructed to gather data from the sampled key
management staff members. Creswell (2014), defined an interview schedule as a process in
which a respondent provides an answer to a question asked by a researcher to record. The
interview data in this study was drawn from key management staff members, who had
backgrounds in mathematics to complement the quantitative data. This implies that the
interview schedule was used to collect qualitative data (Interviews) which assisted the
researcher to explain results from the quantitative data (Questionnaire).
The interview schedule for key management staff had two sections, section A and Section B.
Section A captured information on the variables of the study with respect to the research
objectives. Section B elicited responses on demographic data of respondents such as gender,
position in the school, number of years as a teacher, number of years in the current position,
educational level, and professional and academic qualifications. Each of the interviews lasted
between 30-60 minutes.
Validity and Reliability
The research tools were made available to other researchers for peer evaluation in order to
ensure the study’s dependability, credibility, and reliability. The final development of the
instruments took the reviewers’ comments into consideration. The eligibility of the
questionnaire items for analysis was further determined by running a reliability statistic on
them. According to Creswell (2014), questions in a survey are regarded as appropriate for
analysis if the Cronbach Alpha value in a reliability statistic is not less than 0.5. This means
that elements with a Cronbach Alpha value of less than 0.5 do not accurately measure a
construct, hence those items would need to be eliminated in order to raise the Cronbach Alpha
number. The results of the reliability statistics for this investigation are displayed in Table 3.
Table 3: Reliability Statistics
Construct
Number of
Test Items
Number of
Items Retained
Scale of
Cronbach Alpha
Teachers’ Qualification
10
7
0.94
Teachers’ Methodology
10
6
0.89
Teachers’ Mastery of Content
11
8
0.92
Teachers’ Punctuality in Class
9
7
0.98
Teachers’ Relationship with students
11
6
0.96
Source: Field Data, 2021
As shown in table 3, the test items whose removal would have raised the Cronbach Alpha scale
for the latent constructs were eliminated. To determine the Cronbach Alpha scale, only tests
that accurately evaluated the latent construct were used. Ten elements made up the construct
"Teachers' Qualification," however only seven were employed in the analysis because the other
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three had scales that impacted the Cronbach Alpha's score. Ten test items were included in the
construct "Teachers' Methodology," but only six of them were used. Only eight of the eleven
test items for "Teachers' Mastery of Content" were kept following the reliability investigation.
Nine components made up the construct of "Teachers' Punctuality in Class," of which seven
were kept following reliability calculations, and eleven test items made up the construct of
"Teachers-Students Relationship," of which only six were kept. The Cronbach Alpha scale for
each construct was more than 0.8, indicating that the test items accurately captured the
objectives of each construct.
Data Collection Procedures
Students, Math teachers, and administrative staff from TAMASCO, NOBISCO, TISEC, and
KALISCO provided the primary data for this study. The necessity of respecting the location of
research sites and obtaining permission before visiting them cannot be overstated (Creswell,
2009). Prior to giving out the questionnaire, the researcher interacted with the respondents to
build a connection with them, explain the goals of the study, and explain why getting their
input was crucial to the success of the study. Before giving them the questionnaire, the
researcher also requested their informed consent and provided them with assurances regarding
the confidentiality of any information they would be sharing. The researcher carefully vetted
and trained the research assistants who assisted in the data collection process, to ensure that
high-quality data was obtained. The researcher chose and trained at least eight (8) research
assistants who conducted the data collection in the four schools while the researcher engaged
the management staff for the key informant interviews. The researcher and his assistants visited
each school at designated times after the distribution of the questionnaire to collect those that
were completed and to remind those respondents who had not yet done so of the importance of
completing their questionnaire in order to ensure a maximum response rate. A week was
devoted to training research assistants and visiting the schools to secure authorisation from the
Headmaster/Mistress of the Schools for the conduct of the research. The complete data-
gathering process took two weeks. Each school received two research assistants. For 10 days,
research assistants were required to distribute and collect at least five questionnaires each day
while the researcher conducted at least two (2) Key Informant Interviews each day. Before
leaving the field, two days were devoted to finding and fixing any missing responses. The
researcher issued letters of thanks to the schools and any other stakeholders who assisted in
some manner with the data collection after the exercise.
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RESULTS/FINDINGS
The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. SPSS was used to compile and
input the respondents’ replies. This was utilised to ascertain response frequencies and
percentages in a table, as seen in table 4.
Table 4: Respondents Reported Effects of Teacher Characteristics on Students’
Performance in Mathematics
Characteristic of Teachers
Students
Responses
Teachers
Responses
Total
Percentages
Teachers' Qualification
69
12
81
21.7
Teachers' Methodology
66
9
75
20.2
Teachers’ Mastery of Content
70
7
77
20.7
Teachers' Punctuality in Class
61
3
64
17.2
Teachers' Relationship with students
64
11
75
20.2
Total
328
42
372
100
Source: Field Data, 2022
Selecting the teacher quality that has the greatest impact on student academic success was the
task given to the respondents. According to table 4, sixty-nine (69) students and 12
mathematics teachers, or 21.7% of the total respondents, said that teachers' qualification was
the factor that had the greatest impact on students' mathematics achievement. The most
important quality of a teacher that influences students' arithmetic achievement, according to 70
students and 7 mathematics teachers, or 20.7% of all respondents, is "Teachers' Mastery of
Content." 66 students and 9 mathematics teachers, or 20.2% of the total respondents, said that
"Teachers' Methodology" was the most important teacher-related aspect that affected students'
arithmetic performance. 20.2% of the total respondents—sixty-four (64) mathematics students
and eleven (11) mathematics teachers—identified "Teachers' Relationship with Students" as
the most important factor in predicting students' arithmetic achievement. Sixty-one (61)
students and three (3) mathematics teachers, or 17.2% of the total respondents, said that
teachers' punctuality in class was the teacher-related aspect that had the greatest impact on
students' arithmetic achievement.
Thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative information obtained from interviews
about how teachers' traits affect children's mathematics achievement. The researcher repeatedly
reviewed the transcripts of the data to become comfortable with the material. By underlining,
colouring, and creating shorthand labels to explain the contents of text passages, the researcher
coded the transcribed data. By using these codes, the researcher was able to quickly summarise
the key ideas and recurring meanings in the data. Then, by mixing the codes, themes were
created by finding patterns in the resulting codes. Reviewing and mapping these themes against
the complete data set was done. A few of the themes were divided into subthemes, and others
were blended to provide the themes with more depth and use. The concepts were then given
names before being ultimately interpreted. Table 5 displays this information.
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Table 5: Qualitative Analysis for Impact of Teacher Characteristics on Students’
Performance in Mathematics
Codes
Basic Themes
Organising Theme
● Competent
● Incompetent
● Qualified
● Highly qualified
● Confidence
● First degree
● Diploma
● Master’s degree
● Training college
● University
● Distance
● Regular
● Students develop interest
in mathematics when they
considered the teacher
highly qualified
● Students pay more
attention when they feel
the teacher is qualified to
help them learn
● The competence level of
mathematics teachers
affects the interest level of
students in the subject
Teachers’ qualification
influences students’ interest
and subsequent
performance in
mathematics
● Friendly
● Available
● Approachable
● Embarrassment
● Confidentiality
● Empathetic
● Good listener
● Less punishment
● Students will better
confide in mathematics
teachers about their
learning problems when
he is friendly to them
● Student love teachers who
show concern for their
needs
● Students will not
participate in class of the
teacher who continually
embarrass them
The way a teacher relates to
students affect their interest
in mathematics and as such
affect their performance as
well
● Inexperience
● Cannot manage class
● Cannot control
students
● Use of teaching and
learning resources
● Demonstrations
● Students’ engagement
● Students’ participation
● Student-centred
● Interactive
● Students learn better when
they are involved in the
classroom
● Students understand better
when the mathematics
teacher dedicate time to
explaining concepts and
methods
● Students learn better when
the mathematics teacher is
able to control the class
● Students develop more
interest in mathematics
when the teacher uses
appropriate teaching and
learning materials
The style of teaching affects
students’ interest in
mathematics and predicts
their performance in the
subject.
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● Familiar with it
● Knows what he or she
is doing
● Master of the subject
● Confidence levels
● Ability to break
complex problems to
smaller ones
● Extremely good
● Students understand better
when teachers demonstrate
a good mastery of content
of the subject
● Students develop interest
when the teacher appears
to be good at the subject
● Students understand better
when the teacher delivers
with self-confidence and
much efficacy
When a teacher masters the
content, he or she teaches
better and this translates to
better performance by
students
● Always on time
● Misses no class
● Does not tolerate
absenteeism
● Informs the class of
absence
● Organised
● Disciplined
● Students will be punctual
if mathematics teachers
are punctual
● Students love it when their
teacher does not miss class
● Student will be more
serious in learning
mathematics if the teacher
also demonstrates a certain
level of seriousness
Teachers’ punctuality to
class informs the students
about his or her seriousness
and this leads to more
seriousness on the part of
the students and better
performance in mathematics
exams
Source: Field Data, 2022
According to the findings of both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, teachers' credentials,
manner of instruction, content knowledge, timeliness in class, and professional relationships
with students all have an impact on students' mathematical performance. In more detail, these
are covered in the section that follows.
DISCUSSIONS
Discussions for the various objectives were done after the analysis.
Teachers’ Qualification and Students’ Performance In Mathematics
The study found that teachers’ qualification predicts students’ performance in mathematics.
This means that when students perceive their mathematics teachers as having the right
qualification to teach them, they tend to be more attentive and develop a higher interest in the
subject than when they perceive their teachers to be less qualified or unqualified to teach
mathematics. One of the key informants corroborated this:
“The teacher plays a significant role in teaching and learning. The perceptions students have
about a teacher will affect the manner in which they assimilate his or her message. If the
students perceive that the teacher is not qualified, they will form a negative attitude towards
him and whatever he teaches may not interest them because of the perception they have about
his qualification. This will definitely affect the quality of teaching and learning and
subsequently translate into poor performance from the students”
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This finding also corroborates with the findings of Boateng et al. (2021) when they investigated
the teacher-related factors that affect students’ academic performance in Senior High Schools
in Ashanti Region and found that teachers’ qualification was closely associated with students’
academic performance. This finding is also similar to the findings of Kim et al. (2018) who,
in a quantitative analysis of the predictive factors of students’ performance in mathematics,
found a strong correlation between teachers’ qualifications and students’ performance in
elective mathematics. The qualification for a mathematics teacher is, no doubt, very important
in the teaching and learning process. The teacher needs both the academic and professional
qualifications to comfortably and efficiently teach mathematics to the understanding of all
students despite their individual differences in cognitive abilities. Teachers’ academic and
professional qualification, therefore, has a great impact on the quality of teaching and learning
and the quality of teaching and learning determines the level of performance by students. To
improve the performance of students in mathematics, therefore, schools must recruit
mathematics teachers who have the requisite professional and academic qualifications to teach
mathematics. Although Amoah (2020) in a qualitative study, found that teachers who had no
professional qualification produced the same or even better outputs than those who were
professional teachers in their study of teacher-related factors of students’ performance in the
Ahafo region. This, however, may not be generalised because they conducted their study in a
primary school where the content is less complex as compared to the Senior High School levels.
Teachers’ Choice of Methodology and Students’ Performance in Mathematics
The study found that the choice of teaching methodology by teachers affects students’
performance in mathematics. This means that the level to which the students are involved in
the teaching and learning process determines their levels of interest in the subject. Teachers
who choose methodologies that are teacher-centred may exclude students’ participation in the
classroom because they will be spoon-feeding them what they know. The students become
passive in the learning process. This makes them lose interest in the subject and this may affect
their performance in the subject subsequently. This was corroborated by one of the key
informants as this
“Teaching requires a lot of creativity from the teacher. Teaching is more interesting to the
learner when it is interactive and participatory. Teachers who do not involve learners in the
teaching process will surely record low success”
This finding corroborates the finding of Ankomah (2021) when he employed a qualitative
approach using a grounded theory with a systematic design to investigate the impact of teaching
methodology and students’ academic performance among Senior High School students in Bono
East and found that teachers’ teaching experience, teachers’ qualification and teachers’
pedagogical approach explained variations in students’ academic performance in the district.
Rwelamila (2019) also found that teaching methodology was closely associated with students’
academic performance when they investigated the factors that were responsible for the poor
performance of Senior High School students in Dare Salam. Teaching methods are very
significant in teaching and learning. The complex nature of a classroom means that people have
different cognitive abilities and varied backgrounds in mathematics. Teachers need to adopt
methodologies that take cognisance of these differences. Newman (2019) points out that there
is no single method of teaching that fits all situations. Teachers may, therefore, need to vary
their pedagogy to suit their contexts and get every learner involved in the learning process.
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Teachers’ Mastery of Content And Students’ Performance in Mathematics
The study revealed that the level at which a teacher demonstrates his or her mastery of the
content in mathematics determines students’ performance in the subject. This means that when
a teacher teaches comfortably with confidence and efficacy, students become more enthused
about mathematics than when teachers do not demonstrate adequate knowledge of
mathematics. Teachers who have mastered the contents will prepare their lessons and follow
the outline and give convincing deliveries in the classroom to the understanding of every
student. When students see that the teacher has the capacity to help them to learn mathematics,
they pick interest in it and this translates into higher performance in mathematics. When
students’, however, develop the perception that a mathematics teacher is not too f amiliar with
the content, they will lose interest in the subject and this translates into poor performance. The
response of some of the key informants corroborated this finding. One of the key informants
explained this:
“The students see you as a master of your subject, so you as a teacher should be able to
demonstrate to them that you are actually good at what you are teaching them. In cases where
teachers fail to do this, the students lose interest in the subject and this leads to poor
performance”
Hill and Chin (2018) also made similar findings when they investigated the causes of low
academic performance among Junior High Students in the Greater Accra region. Teachers need
to have adequate knowledge of the subject they teach so that they can transfer such knowledge
to their students. A stern demonstration of this mastery would win students' interest, change
their perceptions about mathematics and propel them to better performance.
Teacher-Student Relationship and Students’ Performance in Mathematics
The study found that the teacher-student relationship affects students’ performance in
mathematics. This means that the way teachers relate with their students in the classroom and
outside the classroom affects students’ performance in their subjects. Learning occurs in a
social environment. The social environment in a school consists of teachers, administrative
staff and students. The teacher has a big social role to play in students’ academic engagement.
When students feel loved, cared for and valued by their teachers, they are more drawn to the
teacher and would be more open to learning since the learning environment will be full of love,
less tension and no anxiety. Teacher-student relationship has been found to have a great impact
on student academic performance but it is particularly so on mathematics since many students
perceive mathematics to be a difficult subject.
Teachers have a great influence on the performance of students. They constitute part of the
social environment that students need to function at their best. As explained by the Self-
Determination Theory, sometimes the prominent potentials of people are diminished in
uncongenial social environments. When teachers make the learning environment uncongenial
through their personal characteristics, students’ performance in mathematics will surely
dwindle but when teachers provide a congenial social environment through their personal
characteristics of punctuality, friendliness, good appearances, mastery of content and
professionalism, it will surely arouse students’ interest in Mathematics and thus, increase their
performance in the Subject (Zohair & Mahmoud, 2019). Yang and Li (2018) found that
students have preconceived minds towards the teaching and learning of mathematics and so
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once a teacher is unable to demonstrate his or her mastery of the content, they become even
more entrenched in their mythology of mathematics being difficult. Teaching involves the
transfer of knowledge.
Teachers’ Punctuality and Students’ Academic Performance
The study found that teachers’ punctuality in class predicts the level of student performance in
mathematics. Punctuality is a mark of discipline and a show of commitment and the level of
seriousness a teacher attaches to teaching and learning activities. When a teacher demonstrates
such levels of discipline and commitment, the students are compelled by the charisma of the
teacher to also attach a certain level of seriousness to the learning of mathematics. This
translates into better performance in mathematics by students. Many of the key informants
shared this view as well. One of the key informants explained:
“To me commitment is infectious. When a teacher demonstrates high levels of commitment,
the students are forced to work hard because they know the teacher will not tolerate any form
of laziness since the teacher himself is committed. The level at which the teacher is available,
when he comes to class, how he manages the class and the time he takes to complete a planned
lesson will signal the level of commitment of the teacher to teaching mathematics. His or her
commitment will influence students to show equal commitment. This may translate into higher
performances”
This finding corroborates the finding of Ekperi (2018) when they investigated the impact of
teacher-related characteristics on students’ academic performance in Lagos State-Nigeria.
They employed an explanatory sequential mixed method involving 400 students and teachers
at different levels in Senior High Schools and found that teachers’ characteristics such as
professionalism, experience, choice of teaching methods and punctuality to class were closely
associated with students’ academic performance. Appiah and Agbelevor (2015), however,
found no association between teachers’ punctuality and students’ academic performance when
they adopted a quantitative approach with a survey design to investigate the effects of teacher
preparedness and discipline on students’ academic performance. The variance between their
finding and that of this study resides in the fact that their study was conducted among university
students who are more capable of independent learning compared to this study which was
conducted among Senior High School students who need much on their teachers for guidance
and facilitation.
Implication to Research and Practice
While many researchers have investigated the causative factors of students’ poor academic
performance, the extent to which teachers’ individual characteristics affect students’
performance in mathematics, to the best knowledge of the researcher, has received little
academic attention. This necessitated the study. The study contributed to knowledge by
investigating how teacher-specific traits such as teacher’s qualification, teacher’s
methodology, teacher’s mastery of content, teacher’s punctuality in class and teacher’s
relationship with students affect students’ passion and enthusiasm in learning mathematics.
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CONCLUSION
This study established that students’ performance in Mathematics is predicted by teachers’
characteristics like qualification, choice of teaching methodology, content mastery, punctuality
and quality of student-teacher relationship. This becomes manifest when students need their
teachers to be friendly, to be able to explain concepts and the relationship between those
concepts to the understanding of at least an average student in the classroom. Teachers’
qualities remain particularly important for students who have very little background in
mathematics. Such categories of students rely wholly on their teachers for guidance and
possible direction. If teachers lack the academic qualification to teach mathematics, it means
there will be low content to deliver and this could limit students’ performance in mathematics.
If teachers have the content but lack the techniques to transfer such content to the students,
their impact on student performance may be low or none at all. Teachers need to also develop
professional skills in relating to students and guiding them to success. The study concludes,
therefore, that teacher characteristics predict students’ performance in Mathematics.
Policy Recommendation
The study found that teachers’ qualification has an influence on students’ performance in
mathematics. It is, therefore, recommended that the Human Resource Department of the
Sagnarigu Education Directorate may post highly qualified mathematics teachers in Senior
High Schools so as to improve the levels of students’ performance in mathematics in the
Municipal.
It was also found that teachers’ methodological choice affects students’ performance in
mathematics. It was, therefore, recommended that the Regional Education Directorate should
organise in-service training seminars and workshops for mathematics teachers so as to abreast
them with trending teaching methods and techniques in mathematics.
It was further found that the level of mastery of content by teachers affects students’
performance in mathematics. It is recommended that the Ghana Education Service may recruit
and post only teachers who demonstrate adequate content mastery as reflected in their transcript
and during the interviews so that they can comfortably teach mathematics in the senior high
schools within the Municipal.
The study also found that the quality of the teacher-student relationship affects students’
performance in mathematics. It is, therefore, recommended that the school management of the
various Senior High Schools in Sagnarigu Municipal may encourage teachers to build
professional relationships with their students so as to improve the quality of teaching and
learning that will lead to higher performances in mathematics.
Recommendation for Future Research
While the study was quite comprehensive as it covered numerous teacher factors that predict
students’ performance in mathematics, there are other characteristics such as the age and
experience of the teacher the study did not address and these could be considered for further
studies by other researchers. The extent to which the individual characteristics of the students
moderate the relationship between teacher characteristics and student performance in
mathematics was not considered and this is an interesting area which could be studied. Again,
this study was limited to students’ performance in Mathematics, studies that consider the
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general factors of students’ academic performance in Northern Ghana would provide more data
and help address issues of students’ academic performances in all subject s.
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21 Article DOI: 10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.52589/BJCE-JYJUYEUT
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