Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate, “Students Mathematical Background and their Performance in Economics in Secondary Schools within the Buea Municipality”. Specifically, this study was aimed at finding out if students’ mathematical background can actually ease their performance in Economics in secondary schools through the examination of algebraic, statistical, and calculus knowledge.

The research design used was the survey research design. The population of the study included some two secondary schools (public and private) in the Buea Municipality. The sample population was one hundred (100) students from the two selected secondary schools.

Furthermore, the Likert type of questionnaire was used for data collection and the statistical method was used for data analysis. The result revealed that student’s mathematical background is necessary for their performance in economics in secondary schools.

It was recommended that mathematics should be made a compulsory subject for any student who wishes to study economics at higher levels. School administrators and teachers should be sensitized on the importance of remedial mathematics in the teaching and learning of economics. Teachers should pay particular attention to the mathematics skills needed to master the economic concepts they are teaching.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

According to the program from the Ministry of Secondary Education, economics in Cameroon is usually introduced to students in form three. This usually starts with the general introduction of the discipline and the definition of basic terms such as scarcity, choice, utility to name just. Later, basic mathematical calculations of mean, median, bar charts, pie charts to name just these, are introduced.

The calculations in economics are not involved in all topics in economics. Most of the topics which involve calculations are; the theory of the firm, national income, demand and supply, taxation, just to name a few. According to the chief examiner’s report for advanced level economics in the general certificate of education (GCE), the impact of calculation has reduced the performance of students’ at the advanced level.

This is because paper three in the GCE Advance level is usually calculations. Hence, students who are not versed with this paper are scared away from answering it. The incidence of mathematics in economics has increased. Nowadays, remedial mathematics is necessary for success in economics (Ely, 1990).

One of the more significant challenges facing instructors of economics is the lack of strong mathematical skills in a number of students enrolled in our college courses. The limitations are significant because understanding many of the economics models they teach assumes, at a minimum, a sound knowledge of high school level algebra.

As a result, students who struggle with basic mathematics skills may perform poorly while students with strong elementary mathematics skills are able to use their mathematics background in solving everyday problems (Johnson, 2008).

This chapter is composed of the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study (general and specific objectives), the significance of the study, the scope of the study (geographical scope and content scope), and research questions.

1.1 Background of the Study

Educators have long held the belief that successful learning relies on a series of building blocks or climbing a step. Students often begin with an introductory course that overviews the general concepts of a subject and additional courses sequentially cultivated or molded the students’ expertise in that discipline.

One goal of higher education is to prepare young adults for the intricacies of everyday decision-making. Students will face many situations that are rich in complexity, with no easy solution. Such ill-defined problems such as allocation of resources, demand, and supply, what to produce and consume, etc are used to build the critical thinking skills faculty often include as part of the classroom experience.

Mathematics is an important element of such development because solving mathematical problems helps with transitional ability, the ability to take what they know and apply it to what they do not know.

An experiment involving middle and higher school students indicates that students who have practiced certain rudimentary algebra (Leader, 2004) or calculus skills (Walter, 2005) can apply those skills to advanced mathematical problems that the students did not previously experience. This idea of becoming a transitional problem solver is directly related to mathematics education, where one becomes comfortable presenting the same information across verbal, graphical, and algebraic symbols (Gagatsis and Stiakalli, 2004). The general conclusion is that mathematics maturity and understanding help students to become better overall learners.

 1.2 Operational definition of terms

To commence with this topic, it is necessary to define some of the basic terms associated with the research topic:

Economics: It is a science that studies human behavior as a relationship between earns and scarce means which have alternative uses. Also, It is a social that entails mathematical reasoning to give answers to problems, that is using figures or numbers to solve the economic problems such as demand and supply and allocation of resources which are used to build the critical thinking skills faculty often included as part of the classroom experience.

Performance: It refers to the intellectual ability of an individual to analyze economic problems mathematically. A student who has study calculus by determining marginal revenue and cost can help business managers maximize their profit and measure the rate of increase in profits that result from an increase in production. It helps students to be able to make decisions and participate in decision-making.

Mathematics: It is the study or science of numbers, forms, arrangements, and sets. Mathematics according to Deveaux and Velleman (2008) is like music that is mathematics is base on its “axiomatic structure and logical development” which a mathematics prodigy could figure out him\herself without much experience in the world. Delmas (2004) note that mathematics is essentially metaphorical in nature because of the abstract nature of mathematics and that it is an abstract artifact of human intellect and culture.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

There seems to be a correlation between knowledge from remedial mathematics and performance in economics. During the researcher’s teaching practice, it was observed that students’ attitude in some areas of economics that require basic mathematical skills was poor.

It is therefore important to find out whether mathematical skills make a difference in the ability of students to succeed in economics at secondary schools in the Buea Municipality. The prime issue here is to verify if algebra statistics and calculus in mathematics can actually form a background for studying Economics. The results will be used to make proposals

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 General Objectives

The goal of this study is to find out if students’ mathematical background can actually ease their performance in economics in secondary school in the Buea community.

1.4.2 Specific Objective of the Study

This study seeks to investigate the effect of;

1. Algebraic, statistical, and calculus knowledge on student’s performance in Economics.
2. Students’ mathematical ability and their performance in economics in secondary schools.
3. The impact of mathematical knowledge with respect to studying economics.