CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

In this era of globalization and technological revolution, Mathematics is known to

affect all aspects of life at different situations. The social, political, geographical, scientific

and technological aspects of man are centered in numbers. It plays a vital role in the

development of human capital and is linked with an individual’s well-being and opportunities

to improve life. The concept and theories of Mathematics are predominant in all disciplines,

and with Mathematics everything is defined. The quality of students’ performance in

Mathematics remains at top priority for educators. It is meant for making a difference locally,

regionally, nationally and globally. Educators, trainers, and researchers have long been

interested in exploring variables contributing effectively for quality of performance of

learners. Unfortunately, defining and measuring the quality of performance in Mathematics is

not a simple issue and the complexity of the process are difficult to measure.

The interrelationship between mathematical development and human advancement

shows the importance of mathematics in life due to its numerical and symbolic nature. The

basic skills underlying all scientific and technological skills are controlled by the tools of

Mathematics. Subsequently, Mathematics is seen as the language used to solve the problem

in most branches of science and technology.

According to Suyao (2007), it is very disturbing that until now, Filipino students

perform low in Mathematics. Based on the result of the 2003 survey conducted by the Third

International Math Science Study released in December 2004, the Philippines ranked 23 rd

among the 25 participating countries generating an average of 358 against the international

average of 495. The result implies that there is a continuous decline of Filipino proficiency

in Mathematics.
 Indeed, the performance of students in Mathematics has been a great concern to the

society. Accordingly, the observed poor performance in Mathematics has been a matter of

serious concern to all math educators. Students’ poor performance in the subject over the

years has been attributed to the fact that many perceive the subject as difficult. Mathematics

educators are confronted with the challenge of imparting the fundamentals in the elementary,

high school and college. Their aim is to assist the students to learn and love Mathematics to

equip them with the tool in facing challenges in the outside world.

According to Gagto (2001), some of the factors that directly and indirectly affect the

students’ performance in Mathematics should be determined. Knowledge of these factors is

of great help to students and the Mathematics teacher as well. These factors are analyzed

which in turn will serve as basis for the teacher to adjust the appropriate methods of teaching

since he should adopt different techniques appropriate in different classroom situations.

Students are helped in knowing how to adjust themselves, according to their skills, ability and

interest. As a result, students will build confidence in overcoming their weaknesses.

Subsequently, the researcher is very much interested in discovering the causes of the

declining performance of students in Mathematics at Pinili, Ilocos Norte. Factors on study

habits, their socio – demographic profile, school – related factors, specifically the adequacy

of instructional materials and class size of the school and teacher – related factors will be

analyzed to determine their influence on the performance of the Grade 7 students in

Mathematics.

The researcher observed that most of the Grade 10 students cannot perform well in

Mathematics. This prompted her to analyze the student’s performance in Mathematics of

Grade 7 students as it contains the introductions of the basic content areas in the Junior High

School Mathematics to enable her to seek solution to the problem.

 Results of the study will show which area in Mathematics are students “Weak” or

“Strong”. Thus, it will serve as a guide for teachers to give attention to areas where the

students have poor performance.

Furthermore, findings of the study could assist Mathematics educators to select

appropriate situations and techniques in order to attract students’ interest in the subject.

Finally, this study could be very valuable to the Junior High Schools of Pinili, Ilocos Norte in

attaining its vision of improving quality education.

Statement of the Problem

This study will aim to analyze the performance in Mathematics of the Grade 7

students in the Junior High Schools of Pinili, Ilocos Norte for the School Year 2017 – 2018.

Specifically, it will seek to answer the following:

1. What is the profile of the students in terms of the following factors;

a. student – related factors:

a.1. sex,

a.2. age,

a.3. family size,

a.4. parents’ socio-economic condition,

a.5. study habits, and

a.6. exposure to technology

b. school – related factors

b.1. adequacy of instructional materials

b.2. class size?

 c. teacher – related factors

2. What is the level of performance in Mathematics of the students along the different

content areas:

a. Number and Number Sense,

b. Measurement, Patterns and Algebra,

c. Geometry

d. Statistics and Probability?

3. Are there significant relationships between student – respondents’ overall level of

performance in Mathematics and the selected variables?

4. In what content learning areas are the students strong and weak?

5. What are the necessary actions to improve the performance of the students in

Grade 7 students?

Theoretical Framework

According to Romberg (1992), there is no general agreement on the definition of

learning, how learning takes place and what constitutes reasonable evidence that learning has

taken place so that the performance of the learners can be assessed. Some says it is

observable in changes in behavior, others that it depends on their age, on their gender and

socio-demographic profiles, and other say that it is the creation of a disequilibrium.

According to Jean Piaget’s Theory of Learning, human intellectual development

progresses chronologically through four sequential stages. The order in which the stages

occur have been found to be largely invariant, however the ages at which the learner enter

each higher stage vary according to each person’s family and environmental characteristics.
Piaget defined intelligence as the ability to adapt environment. Adaptation takes place

through assimilation and through accommodation, with the two processes interacting

throughout life in different ways, according to the stages of mental development. In

assimilation, the learner absorbs new information, fitting features of the environment into

internal cognitive structures. In accommodation, the learner modifies those internal cognitive

structures to conform to the new information and meet demands of the environment. A

balance is maintained through equilibration, as the learner organizes the demands of the

environment in terms of previously existing cognitive structures. Equilibration is a balance

between assimilation and accommodation. The implications of Piaget's Theory of Learning

for the teaching of mathematics are as follows:

 Teachers should consider if the activities they present to learners are designed to
encourage assimilation or accommodation.

 Theories tend to emphasize the lack of competence rather than competence in young
children.

 Language is not regarded as aiding thought/conceptual development.

 Learning is attributed to stages and ages which no amount of teaching can accelerate
(notion of 'readiness').

 The intuitive period or pre-operational stage (2-7 years) is characterized by egocentric

behavior and conflicts between perception and growing powers of reasoning.

 The teacher's role is to provide a suitable environment for learning based on the idea
that acquisition of concepts and knowledge requires action and also interaction with
the environment.

Also, Bruner's theory underpinned the concept of social constructivism. Social

constructivist theories emphasize the importance of language and shared understandings to

construct knowledge and meaning. A definition of learning mathematics using a social

constructivist philosophy is:

 'Mathematics is a human construct often based on axiomatic systems that may

or may not be related. These constructs are both personal and social but in order to

'succeed' in mathematics, the learner must align personal constructs with social

constructs in order to 'enter into' the powerful form of systematic communication that

is globally spoken.' (Lawton, 2002, p.3)

Some of the implications of Bruner's theory for the teaching of mathematics are:

 children's 'readiness' to learn is not linked to age (unlike Piaget's theory);

 development of language is important to concept formation;

 adults are important in structuring and supporting children's developing ideas

(compare this with Piaget's theory);

 new concepts (regardless of the age of the learner) should be taught enactively,

then iconically and, finally, symbolically as ways of capturing experiences in the
memory;

 it is important to include practical activities and discussion as an integral part of

mathematics.;

 the use of pictorial recording and the classroom environment are important.

Bruner's ideas have become part of primary philosophy. However, his notion of a

'spiral curriculum' is not reflected as layered structure with levels being prerequisite for

subsequent levels. .

While in Skemp Theory, the main thrust is that learners construct schemata to link

what they already know with new learning. According to Skemp, mathematics involves an

extensive hierarchy of concepts - we cannot form any particular concept until we have
formed all the subsidiary ones upon which it is depends. Skemp also suggested that emotions

play a dominant part in the way in which we learn. The implication of the Skemp's theory for

the teaching of Mathematics is that attitudes to mathematics affect learning of the subject.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1991) Standards stress

that mathematics need to be taught as a dynamic tool for thought, not just as a set of

operations to be learned. The NCTM Standards stipulate that students need opportunities to

communicate math ideas and solve problems with others, that they should engage in

mathematical activities with confidence and enthusiasm, and that teachers should use

assessment strategies that focus on understanding rather than on right answers. Teachers are

encouraged to value and reward students' effort and persistence, and to give children some

discretion in how they approach mathematical problems and encourage them to use a variety

of approaches to mathematical tasks. This approach to mathematics instruction, referred to

often as `inquiry-oriented (also `constructivist or social-constructivist), represents

fundamental changes in teaching practices – a shift away from the exclusive use of more

traditional textbook-based teaching, in which the teacher is in complete control and the

students' only goal is to learn operations to get the right answer (Prawat, 1992).

Inquiry-oriented mathematics educators take a more dynamic view of mathematics,

conceptualizing it as a discipline that is continually undergoing change and revision. They

embrace a conception of mathematics as a tool for problem solving and a set of cultural

understandings that arise out of problem-solving activity.

Conceptual Framework

The study will revolve around the paradigm presented below.

Independent Variable Dependent Variables

a. Student-Related Factors Performance in Mathematics

a.1. sex, of the Grade 7 Students

a.2. age, a. Number and Number

a.3. family size, Sense,

a.4. parents’ socio- b. Measurement, Patterns

economic condition and Algebra

a.5. study habits, and c. Geometry

a.6. exposure to technology d. Statistics

b. School-Related Factors
c. Teacher-related Factors

Figure 1. The Research Paradigm

As shown in the paradigm, the performance in Mathematics of the Grade 7 students is

influenced by student, school – related and teacher – related factors.

Assumptions

The following are being assumed in this study:

1. The performance of the Grade 7 students in Mathematics by content area is

comparable.

2. The questionnaires and the testing instrument will be valid, reliable and objective.

Hypotheses of the Study

 With the problems formulated, and using the 0.05 level of significance, the

hypotheses will be as follows:

1. There is significant difference in the different learning areas of Mathematics of the

Grade 7 students.

2. There is significant relationship between the students’ level of performance in

Mathematics and the selected variables.

Scope and Delimitations of the Study

This study will be delimited in analyzing the performance of the Grade 7 students

in Mathematics. The coverage will be the Grade 7 students enrolled in the public schools of

Pinili, Ilocos Norte during the school year 2017 – 2018. Respondents will be from the section

of Grade 7 students of Sacritan Integrated School which compose of 48 students and five (5)

sections of Pinili National High School which composed 247 students.

Significance of the Study

This study will be significant to the following;

Grade 7 Teachers. This study will provide teachers an effective tool in improving the

understanding and achievements of students in Mathematics. The information about the

students’ strengths and weaknesses can be used in improving the performance of their

students. It may also give them the idea what content areas the students need reinforcement or

remediation to improve their achievements. The questionnaires can be an instrument for the

teachers to evaluate also their students and about their behaviors towards improving their

teaching techniques in mathematics.

Students. Through this study, the Grade 7 students can evaluate themselves if they

are performing well in their Mathematics subject and that they will realize on what content
areas they performed well and the areas that they need improvements. This serves as an

avenue for the students to become of independent, active and responsible students.

School heads. School heads will appreciate the importance of evaluating the

performance of the students as well as the teachers’ teaching in Mathematics. This will give

them the idea to encourage teachers to attend seminars, trainings and workshops to improve

their teaching. Whatever the results collected could serve as the data which could be useful in

planning educational programs which will be geared towards attainment of quality education.

Parents/Guardians. This study will develop their keen awareness on the strength and

weaknesses of their children in Mathematics. It would be easier for them to check their

children’s learning and capabilities through the result of this study.

Researchers. This may motivate other researchers to conduct the same to determine

the strength and weakness of their students.

Operational Definition of Terms

For the purpose of clarity, the meanings of the following words are defined in the

context of the study.

Performance in Mathematics. This is the result of the students’ performance

obtained in the achievement test in Mathematics describe as outstanding, very satisfactory,

satisfactory, poor and needs improvement.

Sets. These refer to the collection of well – defined distinct objects, things, people,

animals, etc.
 Algebraic Expressions. These refer to a number, a variable or a combination of it

express as a product.

Geometry. This refers to the branch of mathematics concerned with questions of

shape, size, relative position of figures, and the properties of space.

Statistics. This refers to the branch of mathematics dealing with the collection,

analysis, interpretation, presentation, and organization of data.

Sex. This is the characteristic of the respondents which gives distinction between

male and female.

Age. It refers to the number of years that the students have lived up to the time the

study will be conducted.

Family size. This refers to the number of members of the family. In this study, the

norm 1 – 5 is considered small family while 6 or more members are considered a big family.

Parent’s socio–economic condition. It is defined as a person’s overall social

position to which attainment in both social and economic domains contribute but when it is

used in studies of school academic achievement, it refers to the socio – economic status of

parents and family.

Parents’ Level of Education. It is categorized as elementary undergraduate,

elementary graduate, high school undergraduate, high school graduate, vocational, college

undergraduate, college graduate, with master’s unit, with master’s degree, with doctorate

units and with doctorate degree;

Occupation of Parents. This refers to type of work or means of livelihood of

the father and mother categorized as professional and non-professional. In this study,
professional occupation refers to occupation that requires more mental skills than manual

skills. These are teachers, engineers, lawyers, accountants, nurses and other. Non-

professionals refer to occupations which require more manual skills than mental ability.

These are farming, carpentry, dressmaking, driving and the like.

Study habits. This refers to the students’ accustomed method approach to units of

learning, their consistency of ignoring distractions, their attentiveness to the specific

materials that will be studied and the efforts which may be exerted through the process. It

includes;

Reading and Note Taking Techniques. This refer to the method of

understanding the meaning of the things presented for study, whether written, printed or read.

Habits of Concentration. This refers to the way the student maintain their

attention upon specific task, activity, problem and other task need to be learned.

Distribution of Time and Social Relationship. It refers to the way the

students’ allocate time to accomplish assign task, and maintain relationship with peers and

instructor.

Preparing and Taking Examination. It refers to the extent of preparation of

the students during and after the test.

Attitude towards Mathematics. This refers to the feeling of students towards

mathematics learning.

Exposure to Technology. This refers to the means by which the students get

information through surfing internet, watching televisions and listening to radio.

 Class size. This refers to the number of students handled by a teacher. It will be

described as big if the total number of students is 36 and above and small if it is 35 and

below.

Adequacy of Instructional Materials. This refers to the availability to the items or

equipment used by the teacher as teaching aids such as Mathematics book, electronic library,

hand-outs, modules, TV sets, VCD/DVD player, LCD projector, dictionaries, Mathematics

journals and computers.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In educational institution, success is measured by academic performance, or how well

a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution itself. As a career

grows ever fiercer in the working world, the importance of students doing well in school has

caught the attention of parents, legislators, and government education departments. It plays a

vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an individual’s well-being

and opportunities for better living (Battle & Lewis, 2002). It ensures the acquisition of

knowledge and skills that enable individuals to increase their productivity and improve their

quality of life. Educators, trainers, and researchers have long been interested in exploring

variables contributing effectively for quality of performance of learners. Some studies have

shown that the only ready prediction of future performance is past performance. Self –

concept of one’s performance in the past (positive rating) are well – correlated with better

academic achievement. Previous academic performance serves as a good predictor of success

especially in the students’ lower level of educational achievement.

On Performance in Mathematics

Although Mathematics is not the only road to success in the working world,

much effort is made to identify, evaluate, track, and encourage the progress of students in
schools. Parents care about their child’s academic performance because they believe good

academic result will provide more career choices and job security. Schools, though invested

in fostering good academic habits for the same reason, are also often influenced by concerns

about the school’s reputation and possibility of monetary aid from government institutions,

which can hinge on the overall academic performance of the school(Bell, 2008)

Research in the field of Mathematics as primary subject in the higher level of

educational curriculum is declining. The socio – demographic characteristics, socio –

economic status, environment and study skills are treated to determine which of these factors

influence mathematical proficiency of the students especially in the Junior High School level.

On Student – Related Factors

Socio – demographic characteristics consist of the student’s age, sex, and

ethnicity. Age plays a significant role on academic performance as younger students tend to

perform better than their older counterparts. The effect of ethnic minority status on academic

performance may be actually due to the influence of socio – economic status.

The formal investigation about the role of these demographic factors rooted back in

17th century (Mann, 1985). These are usually discussed under the umbrella of demography

(Ballatine, 1993). In a broader context, demography is referred to as a way to explore the

nature and effects of demographic variables in the biological and social context.

Unfortunately, according to Blevins (as cited by Parri, 2006), defining and measuring

the quality of education is not a simple issue and the complexity of this process increases due

to the changing values of quality attributes associated with the different stakeholders’ view

point. Besides other factors, socioeconomic status is one of the most researched and debated

factor among educational professionals that contribute towards the academic performance of
students. The most prevalent argument is that the socioeconomic status of learners affects the

quality of their academic performance.

According to Adams (1996), most of the experts argue that the low socioeconomic

status has negative effect on the academic performance of students because the basic needs of

students remain unfulfilled and hence they do not perform better academically. The low

socioeconomic status causes environmental deficiencies which results in low self – esteem of

students.

On Sex. Gender differences are a recurrent theme throughout the literature in

academic studies in general and in math studies in particular. Math is often considered

to be a domain in which boys are higher achievers, both in terms of attitudes and self-

concept. Certainly one difference that can be measured among any human population is

gender.

According to Bray, Mart and Brow (as cited by Roberonta,2013), gender becomes a

factor in classroom instruction when a teacher creates a learning environment that favors

success of either boys or girls. Most of the time teachers’ favoritism is subtle and

unintentional. There are, however, noticeable differences in the beliefs held by boys

and girls. Research has consistently shown that girls have lower math self-concept

than boys. Historically certain subject areas have tended to be problematic in terms of

gender favoritism, areas such as Mathematics and Science. Gender differences are both

similar to and different from cultural differences. Certainly, there are physiological

differences between sexes, but these do not extend to inherent differences in the ability to

succeed to school or work. Typically, our culture described male behavior as aggressive,

assertive, and competitive. Female behavior is described as collaborative and supportive.

Males are encouraged to develop skills in field of Mathematics course such as engineering
and computer science. While child development is considered a female realm, they are also

focused in the field of personal aesthetics such as fashion and interior design.

On the study of a meta-analysis conducted by Etsey and Snetzler taking into

consideration 96 studies has concluded that gender differences in student attitudes toward

mathematics do exist but are small. The results indicate that males show more positive

attitude. However in elementary school studies the effect size was about 0.20 in favor of

females and for grades 9 to 12 the effect size was similar, 0.23, but in favor of males. This

confirm small gender effects, which increase among older students (high school and college),

with females holding more negative attitudes. Asante also states that, when compared with

boys, “girls lacked confidence, had debilitating causal attribution patterns, perceived

mathematics as a male domain, and were anxious about mathematics”. The research carried

out that boys had more positive attitudes towards mathematics than girls. American boys

showed more interest in math than girls, but girls perceived math as more important than

boys. Girls also presented higher scores on items with regard to difficulties with math.

On the contrary, Chambers and Schreiber (2004) mentioned in their study that the gap

between the achievement of boys and girls has been found, with girls showing better

performance than boys.

On Age. Effects of age in education have been documented by several studies within

a given class; relatively younger individuals have different performances with respect to

relatively older individuals. More specifically, the older students in a given class typically

outperform the younger mates in a wide array of cognitive and academic outcomes.

On the contrary, the study of Considine and Zappala (2002) found that youngest

students within a cohort perform better than their older peers.

 However, Abubakar and Ogogo (2011) found that age as a predictor does not show

significant influence in the academic achievement of students.

On Family Size.The result of the study “Influence of Family Size and Family Birth

Order on Academic Performance of Adolescents of Higher Education 2009” showed that

there is no significant difference between family size and academic performance of students

on higher education. The finding of this study deserves further explanations within the

context of existing research literature and the circumstances under which the study was

conducted or lower academic level used for the study.

Moreover, on the study conducted by Quismondo (as cited by Agoot, 2006), students

achievement was not affected by the family size. Pescador also found that family size was not

related to the students’ mathematical ability.

The study of Ozughalu (2012) showed that the number of siblings in the family is

inversely related to students’ academic achievements in mathematics; great effort should be

made to tremendously reduce the average family size. Adequately measures should be taken

to significantly reduce the average number of siblings in the family so as to pave way for

tremendous improvement in students’ academic achievements in Mathematics.

On Parent’s Socio – Economic Condition. The results of many studies confirmed

that academic achievement of students is contingent upon parent’s socio – economic

condition. The students belonging from higher social economic backgrounds will perform

better than other students associated with low social economic background.

According to Jeynes (2002), social and economic status of students is generally

determined by combining parent’s qualification, occupation and income standard. With

several studies conducted on academic achievement, it is not very surprising to observe that
socio – economic status is one of the main elements studied while predicting academic

performance.

The same findings was found by Graetz (1995) which said that the socio – economic

status of parents of students has great impact on students’ academic performance. The main

source of educational imbalance among students and students’ academic success contingent

is very strong on parents’ socio – economic standard.

Also, Escarce (2003), stated that the total income of families, monthly, or annually

and their expenditures also put a great effect on the learning and academic opportunities

accessible to youngsters and their chances of educational success. Furthermore, he also

pointed out that due to residential stratification and segregation, the students belonging to low

– income backgrounds usually attends schools with lower funding levels, and this situation

reduced achievement motivation of the students and high risk of educational malfunction.

On the other hand, Pedrosa, et.al (2006) pointed out in their study that those students

who mostly come from deprived socio – economic background performed relatively better

than others coming from high socio – economic area. They named this phenomena

educational elasticity.

On Study Habits. The study habits of students are known to affect students’

educational achievement. This includes the students’ reading and note taking technique,

habits of concentration, distribution of time and social relationship, and habits and attitudes in

preparing and taking examinations.

As stated by Diyanni (1997), it was found that there exists a significant relationship

between the students’ level of performance and their study habits. It was emphasized that the

students with favorable habits and attitudes towards Mathematics achieved better than those
with unfavorable attitudes. He arrived at a conclusion that most of the students who passed

the achievement test have positive study habits and those who have negative habits tend to

achieve low.

On the contrary, Gagto (2001) found that the study habits do not significantly

influence the performance of students.

Exposure to Technology. Computer literacy, in general, is being knowledgeable

about computer and its applications. The conceptual dimensions include understanding of the

inner workings of computer or general computer terminology. Without such knowledge, a

user would find it difficult to figure out any system problems, or to adapt quickly to new

systems or software. The operational dimension refers to the necessary skills a user acquires,

through trainings and practices, n order to operate specific systems to complete specific tasks.

According to Baki (as cited by Alibuyog, 2014), the traditional Mathematics

instruction of “definition-formula-example-practice-exercises” has been easy for teachers but

for students, it has been boring and difficult. The learning cycle suggest “exploration-

guesswork-justification-association-generalization” that make teachers a facilitator and guide

to student experiences.

Young (2006) found out that internet use and social capital of teenagers are

significantly related to their academic performance. This study provides the following three

key findings. First, teenagers consider the internet as an important part of their everyday life.

Results of the study showed that more than half of the teenagers use the internet extensively

and considers it the most important information source for both learning and entertainment

purposes.
 Second, examining the relation between internet and social interaction of

teenagers was found that the amount of time spent using the internet was not significantly

related to the social network.

Third, examining the result of the effect of social network variables on academic

performance through multiple regression analysis indicate that internet use time and

entertainment – oriented usage were negatively related to achievement, while social network

variables such as in – degree centrality and ego – network efficiency exerted significant and

positive influence on achievement. In other words, the higher in – degree centrality and ego –

network efficiency, the higher academic grades students are likely to get.

Also, Saraos (2007) revealed that time spent in media exposure like reading

books, magazines and newspapers, watching television and listening to radio does not

significantly influence the students’ performance in Mathematics.

On School – Related Factors

On Adequacy of Instructional Materials and Facilities. Benzon (2010) found

that adequacy of instructional materials affects the performance of the students in

Mathematics. Considine and Zappala (2002) showed that schools environment and facilities

have strong influence on students’ performance. Most of the teachers working in poor schools

having run short of facilities often have low performance expectations from them, hence,

leads to poor performance by students.

On the contrary, Bray and Brow (2004) in his study, revealed that adequacy of

instructional materials does not influence the performance of students in Mathematics.

On Class Size. The study of Orteza (2006) found that the class size has

significant relationship with the students’ Mathematics performance. But Aguilar (2004),
found that class size has no significant influence on the performance of students in

Mathematics.

Teacher – Related Factors

Teachers are a very important part of the classroom environment. Teacher

expectancies and beliefs have been shown to influence student motivation and achievement

both directly through observable teacher behaviors and indirectly through more subtle forms

of communication (Brophy & Good, 1974). Although the relation between teacher efficacy

and student beliefs and attitudes is yet to be firmly established, Brookover et al. (1979), using

schools as the unit of analysis, found negative correlations between teachers' sense of

academic futility and students' self-concept of ability and self-reliance.

The result of the above – mentioned studies and researches served as bases of the

researcher in conducting the study. From this, it can be theorized that performance of the

students in Mathematics 7 might be affected by some selected variables

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents a discussion on the research design, the locale of the study, the

population and sampling procedure, the research instruments, the data gathering procedure

and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

The descriptive method of investigation will be used in this study to determine the

respondents’ level of performance in Mathematics and to describe the profile of the students

and the aforementioned factors. The correlation research design will be employed to

determine the extent of relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Thus,

the comparative approach of investigation will be utilized to determine the significant

difference of the performance in Mathematics of the Grade 7 students.

Population and Sample

The respondents of this study will be from the two (2) public Junior High School

Grade 7 students of Pinili, Ilocos Norte for the School Year 2017 – 2018. The respondents

will be from Sacritan Integrated School and Pinili National High School.

Sampling Technique

The sample will be computed using the Slovin’s formula given below:
 n=¿ N___
1 + Ne2
where; n = sample siz, N = population size, and e = margin of error (0.05)

Table 1 shows the population and sample of this study.

School/Section N n
Pinili National High School
Grade 7 - Love 39 36
Grade 7 - Faith 42 38
Grade 7 - Peace 42 38
Grade 7 - Hope 41 37
Grade 7 - Joy 40 36
Grade 7 - Courage 42 38
Sacritan Integrated School 48 43
Total 294 269

Data Gathering Instrument

The research will used five parts of questionnaires. The first part will be the personal

data information and family background which will determine the socio-demographic profile

of the respondents.

The second part will deal with the study habit of students classified as reading, note-

taking techniques, habits of concentration, distribution of time and social relationship of the

respondents and attitudes in preparing and taking examinations which will be adopted from

Benzon, (2010).

The following range will be used for the interpretation of the results.

Range Descriptive Rating Overall

4.21 – 5.00 Almost Always (AA) Very High (VH)

3.41 – 4.20 Generally (G) High (H)

2.61 – 3.40 Frequently (F) Moderate (M)

 1.81 – 2.60 Sometimes (S) Low (L)

1 – 1.80 Rarely (R) Very Low (VL)

The third part is the attitude scale of the students towards Mathematics which will be

the viewpoint toward mathematical learning of the students. There are thirty (30) items for

this part that will compose of positive and negative statement to elicit the attitude scale of

students towards Mathematics. There are eighteen (18) positive attitudes and twelve (12)

negative statements which was adopted from the study of Benzon (2010).

The following will be the range that will be used for the interpretation of result.

Range Descriptive Rating Overall

4.21 – 5.00 Strongly Agree (SA) Very High (VH)

3.41 – 4.20 Agree (A) High (H)

2.61 – 3.40 Undecided (U) Moderate (M)

1.81 – 2.60 Disagree (D) Low (L)

1 – 1.80 Strongly Disagree Very Low (VL)

The fourth part is on school – related factor which are classified as class size and

adequacy of instructional materials.

The following range will be used for the interpretation of results.

Range Descriptive Rating

4.21 – 5.00 Strongly Agree (SA)

3.41 – 4.20 Agree (A)

2.61 – 3.40 Undecided (U)

1.81 – 2.60 Disagree (D)

1 – 1.80 Strongly Disagree

 The fifth part will be on teacher – related factor which will describe how well the

teacher teaches Mathematics and how they act as model of core values which was

downloaded on the internet.

The following scale will be used for the interpretation of the results

Range Descriptive Rating Overall

4.21 – 5.00 Strongly Agree (SA) Very High (VH)

3.41 – 4.20 Agree (A) High (H)

2.61 – 3.40 Undecided (U) Moderate (M)

1.81 – 2.60 Disagree (D) Low (L)

1 – 1.80 Strongly Disagree Very Low (VL)

And the sixth part will be the achievement test in Mathematics 7 which will determine

the level of performance of the Grade 7 students. This was constructed by the researcher. The

achievement test consists of 50 items distributed as follows;

Learning Areas Number of Items

Number and Number Sense 14

Measurement, Patterns and Algebra 16

Geometry 16

Statistics and Probability 9

To determine the performance of the Grade 7 students in Mathematics, the norm that

will be used for the interpretation of the mean scores of the respondents:
For nine (9) items;

Range Descriptive Rating

7.21 – 9.00 Outstanding

5.41 – 7.20 Very Satisfactory

3.61 – 5.40 Satisfactory

1.81 – 3.60 Poor

0.01 – 1.80 Very Poor

For ten (10) items;

Range Descriptive Rating

8.01 – 10.00 Outstanding

6.09 – 8.00 Very Satisfactory

4.01 – 6.00 Satisfactory

2.01 – 4.00 Poor

0.01 – 2.00 Very Poor

For eleven (11) items;

Range Descriptive Rating

8.81 – 11.00 Outstanding

6.61 – 8.80 Very Satisfactory

4.41 – 6.60 Satisfactory

2.21 – 4.40 Poor

0.01 – 2.20 Very Poor

Overall Performance in Mathematics

Range Descriptive Rating

40.01 – 50.00 Outstanding

30.01 – 40.00 Very Satisfactory

20.01 – 30.00 Satisfactory

10.01 – 20.00 Poor

0.01 – 10.00 Very Poor

Data Gathering Procedure. The research will be conducted using the following

phases.

Phase 1. Construction and Validation of Achievement Test in Mathematics 7

The construction and validation of an achievement test in Mathematics 7 will indicate

the degree to which the test is capable of achieving certain objectives. To ensure that the test

will be valid, external and internal validity will be considered. A table of specification will be

constructed to represent the learning areas in Mathematics 7 per item to be measured.

For external validity, there will be 55 – item test that will be evaluated by experts in

the field of Mathematics for Grade 7.

To arrive at the validity of the content of this study, the following norms are

set;

Range Descriptive Rating

4.21 – 5.00 Very Much

3.41 – 4.20 Much

2.61 – 3.40 Average

1.81 – 2.60 Little

1 – 1.80 Very Little

 For internal validity, the item analysis will be employed by using the difficulty index

formula, discrimination index formula and Kuder – Richarson Fomrula (KR20) to evaluate

the validity, reliability and usability of the achievement test.

Phase II. Administration of Data Gathering Instruments

The administration of the data gathering instrument will be done through the

assistance of the teacher of the student – respondents. Questionnaire will be given to the

respondents that they will be requested to answer it. It will be composed of six parts. Part I

will be a questionnaire on their personal and family background. Part II will be on the

information on their study habits which are categorized as reading and note – taking

techniques, habits of concentration, distribution of time and social relationship and habits and

attitudes in preparing and taking examinations. Part III will be on attitude scale of the

students towards Mathematics. Part IV will be on school – related factors which is about their

class size and adequacy of instructional materials. Part V will be on teacher – related factors

which is on how well the teacher teaches the subject and how the teacher model the core

values through the behavior of the teacher with the students. After a week, the last part, Part

VI on the achievement test will be administered.

Permission from the different school heads will be forwarded to gather all the

information needed for this study.

Statistical Treatment

The data that will be gathered will be treated with the following:

1. Frequency Count and Percentage. To describe the profile of the student –

respondents in terms of age, sex, family size, socio – economic profile,

exposure to technology and class size.

2. Mean. To determine the level of performance of the Grade 7 students in

Mathematics along with different learning areas and with the level of study

habits, attitude towards Mathematics, adequacy of instructional materials

and exposure to technology.

3. Item Analysis. To analyze the items per content areas in the achievement

test of the Grade 7 in Mathematics to determine the strength and

weaknesses of the students.

4. Linear Regression. To determine the degree of influence of the student –

related factors, school –related factors and the teacher – related factors.