The Extend to Which Mathematics Lessons are Attended to by Teachers as A Means of Covering The Subject Syllabus in Secondary Schools in Kenya

Abstract

Mathematics is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school education in Keya. Achievement in the subject has been poor. The subject is a located more hours in the school timetable where mathematics teachers are expected to attend to all lessons and remain in class throughout the lesson. Research on the extend to which teachers attend to mathematics lessons is minimal and has not addressed how students get affected since the expectation of the society is the school to produce members who fit into the society, further more the examination council sets exams with the assumption that the syllabus was well covered thus disadvantages those students whose mathematics time was not well covered. Therefore, the purpose of this study is thus to investigate the extent to which mathematics lessons are attended in secondary schools. The findings of the study will provide a basis for emphasizing the need to have all mathematics lessons taught and improve on learning of the subject, which is of value, since mathematics provides skills in logical thinking, which helps in solving daily problems in society. Purposeful selections of schools along the highway from Busia district to Nairobi province were used in the study. Six hundred and sixty one students and seventy one mathematics teachers participate in study. Data was collected using one questionnaire for secondary school teachers and one questionnaire for students. Frequencies and percentages were used to organize and interpret the results. The findings indicate that mathematics lessons are poorly attended and there is need to improve on this.