Teacher-Student Variables as Predictor of Students' Interest in Mathematics: The Use of Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of teacher and student variables on student interest in Mathematics. The study used quantitative approach to research to explore and explain the effect of teacher and students variable on students’ interest in Mathematics. The study used probability sampling technique to select and administer questionnaires to the participating schools and students. A sample of One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Three (1,263) was selected from Ten (10) schools in the Ashanti region of Ghana using the random sampling technique. The study revealed that six (6) out of eight (8) predictor variables are statistically significant in predicting students’ interest in Mathematics. The teacher’s ability to connect Mathematics to real life problems and school leadership contributed 37.8% and 2% approximately to the variance in the student interest. The study further concluded that, students’ perception, students’ background, Mathematics facility as well as instructor quality and availability were statistically significant in predicting the student interest in Mathematics. However, the contribution of these predictor variables in explaining the variance in students’ interest was less than 1%. The study recommends that in order for students to be interested in Mathematics, Mathematics teachers should connect Mathematics to real life scenarios to help build student interest.