PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN THE LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

The study investigated the perceived influence of the use of mother tongue in the learning of Mathematics in secondary schools in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. The study was guided by three research questions and adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised of the 6,801 Secondary School Year Two (SS2) students in Awka Education Zone, enrolled in the 2024/2025 academic session. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 320 students used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a self-developed instrument by the researchers titled “Perceived Influence of the use of Mother Tongue in the Learning of Mathematics Questionnaire (PIMTLMQ)”. The instrument was validated by 3 experts and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.72 using Cronbach Alpha. In analyzing the items in the research questions, Mean was used while grand mean was used to compare against the number line used in answering the research questions. The results obtained showed that mother tongue holds significant potential for enhancing learning of Mathematics. It was recommended among others that teachers should incorporate mother tongue strategically in the Mathematics classroom to enhance comprehension and participation in Mathematics by the students.