Classroom antecedents and learner attainment in mathematics in universal secondary schools: a case of Kampala city, Uganda

Abstract

The classroom antecedents in secondary school are the elements that are known to affect learners’ learning and attainment in Mathematics. The major objective of this study was therefore to ascertain the influence of classroom antecedents on attainment in mathematics by firstly to find out the availability of classroom infrastructure regarding the subject and finding out the factors that influence adequacy. Classroom management and teacher commitment were also examined to establish their influence on attainment in mathematics. The study also provides some of the learners’ behaviors as a result of their use of infrastructure towards attainment in Mathematics and would further in assisting the learners to advance a progressive attitude towards attainment which is a process for improved in the mathematics. The research was conducted in 10 secondary schools in Kampala city and the focus population was Mathematics learners in senior three, attending the new lower secondary curriculum. The purposive and random sampling techniques were employed in selecting the schools; learners from those schools were selected randomly with the use of learner’s questionnaires as a method of data collection. The questionnaires were designed to capture the learners’ comprehension and understanding which were grouped according to themes Factual knowledge, Conceptual, knowledge, Procedural, knowledge Meta-cognitive, knowledge regarding mathematics as subject, learners’ mathematical ability and achievement. The learners responded to the questionnaires and data was collected, calculated and converted into percentages. Based on the study, the majority of students had positive attitude towards mathematics and thought it was important, practicable, and learnable, but this did not convert into basic scores. The results also demonstrate that learners' ability levels were impacted by their perceived learning capacities and competences, comprehension and understanding, and prior mathematical performance, which resulted in poor performance.