An Investigation into Senior Secondary Students' Preference for Numerical Information in Relation to Numeracy and Achievement Mathematics in Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, the attempt was made to investigate senior secondary school students' preference for numerical information as associated with numeracy and achievement in mathematics in Lagos, Nigeria. The participants were 350 students carefully chosen from eight public senior secondary schools in which the study adopted the quantifiable research methodology within the scheme of the descriptive survey design. The collected data were analysed using the descriptive statistics of percentages, mean, and standard deviation and inferential statistics of factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results showed that preference for numerical information measured by the preference for numerical information scale was a unidimensional construct with very high-reliability index. Senior secondary school students showed a low preference for numerical information. Numeracy in everyday life, numeracy in mathematical tasks, numeracy in workplace tasks and preference for numerical information made statistically weighty contributions to the prediction of students' achievement in mathematics. In line with this study results, it is hereby recommended that teachers of mathematics should not only teach number sense to pupils right from the primary school but should employ learner-centred teaching strategies capable of positively influencing students' penchant for numerical information. Future studies in Nigeria and elsewhere should endeavour to investigate the confirmatory factor analysis of the preference for numerical information scale amid students at all levels of education.