The role of Mathematics teacher characteristics in realizing educational goals and objectives in any educational system cannot be over emphasized. Teacher characteristics are the instructional behaviors exhibited by the teacher towards goal attainment. These characteristics are the combination of peculiar qualities, traits, mental or moral nature/strength and status that make one person or group different from another. Successful teachers’ characteristics are those that have been found by empirical researches to be related to improved achievement by students in the cognitive, affective or psychomotor outcomes of education [1]. The bedrock of educational system lies on a core of devoted, knowledgeable, competent and well-trained teachers. Growa [2] rightly pointed out that if a person is to be successful in his chosen career, that individual also needs a set of ethical beliefs or standards for guidance or direction in the appropriate use of competences. A competent teacher seeks to know his learners’ behavior in teaching, must perceive the individual learner as a whole since he has affective, cognitive and psychomotor talents [3]. Also, students’ participation in the instructional process is critical and their perception presents methodological challenges. The knowledge of the way the students think and perceive can aid the teacher to reflect upon and adjust his teaching strategies to enhance students’ understanding and achievement. Albert et al [4] described perception as the way people judge others with whom they are in contact. A persons’ attitude to an idea or object determines what the person thinks, feels and how the person would like to behave towards that idea or objects. Schema [5] defined attitude as internal beliefs that influence personal actions which is learned through one’s experience. This has to do with a disposition to act or react in a particular way as the individual responds to a situation [6]. Thus, the students’ perception of the teachers’ characteristics could influence their attitude toward Mathematics or any other school subject. Students more often than not judge their teachers in some areas such as teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter, various attitude to work and the choice of appropriate teaching method. A teacher who is rated high on these indices in the perception of the students is likely to enjoy the confidence, respect and admiration of his/her students.

Knowledge of Subject Matter

According to Fele and Franke [3] agreed that teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter is an indicator of teachers’ teaching effectiveness. A teacher who has a deep understanding of the concept to be taught is more likely to use unambiguous language; his/her presentation is likely to be more coherent and he/she would offer clearer explanation than those with a weaker background. Helen et al [7] in their finding on importance of Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of subject contents, affirm that effective teaching that can lead to better achievement by the students and provide a positive attitude depends on teachers’ confidence and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.

Communication Ability

No subject matter can be learnt properly without communication, the use of its appropriate terms facilitates the understanding of whatever is being learnt. Communication may be used to mean the transfer, transmission or exchange of ideas, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes or emotion from one person or group of persons to another [8]. Agun and Ehindero, [9] opined that if there is any act germane to effective teaching it is that of communicating. Teachers should strive to make their presentation as unambiguous, coherent and logical as possible. Egg and Kauchak [10] underlined the basic aspects of effective communication to include precise terminology, connected discourse, transition signals and emphasis. Afaria [11] reported that the purpose of communication in the teaching-learning process is to effect change, to produce a desired response; or to influence action contributing to the welfare of the school system. Afaria [11] further highlighted four dimensional objectives of communication as: to inform, to stimulate, to persuade and to remind. Uya asserted that the effectiveness of any educational system depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of the communication system being adopted. And that the teacher has the capability to change the attitude of another person if there is trustworthiness, belief and validity of what he says. To a large extent the effectiveness of any classroom interaction is determined by the competency of the teacher to initiate and sustain communication between and among his/her students [12].

Teaching Method

The use of appropriate teaching method incorporates an ordered way of accomplishing an end or performing a task Adediwura et al [13], described methods as patterns to be followed in teaching/learning process to drive home a point. Whether in formal or informal education, teaching method effectiveness makes for retention of learnt concepts. The extent to which an instructional procedure is potent depends greatly upon its effective use by the instructor and the impression it leaves on the learner, which is usually evident in their attitude as well as performance [14]. Umon [15] in a research on methods of teaching suggested that the ability of the teacher to impart knowledge so depends greatly on the method he applies during the teaching learning process. Where the method is defective, the students stand to lose as they hardly benefit from lessons. According to Uya, for teacher to be able to ensure order and enhance classroom learning, they have to possess necessary pedagogical skills which have to be systematic and methodical. They have to explore and make good use of their knowledge of instructional skills/strategies, whether the method adopted falls within the spectrum of mass or individualized instructional methods [16]. Ewu [8] opined that teaching, by its nature requires a variety of methods to facilitate teaching/learning in the class and to develop the child’s knowledge and understanding to the maximum.

Classroom Management Skills

Classroom management is the process of leading, directing, ordering or restraining of students in a class in a way that will lead to effective learning. Bayo, Hattie, and Frazer [17] observed that students will perform best in a controlled atmosphere that is conducive to academic and social needs of the students. The atmosphere in the classroom needs to be relaxed, free from threats and anxiety, non-competitive and thought provoking to allow students participate and enjoy the lesson. Under such atmosphere the students’ interest in and attitude towards the subject taught could be enhanced Teacher’s characteristics in instructional delivery are therefore a measure of the teacher’s ability to apply his professional skills in a teaching/learning situation.

Statement of the Problem 

Students’ impression is that Mathematics is difficult by its very nature, and that Mathematics is highly structured and so abstract that it requires special knowledge talents. Thus, students see the subject as something esoteric that is to be feared [18]. The consequences of students’ negative attitude towards Mathematics could be the persistent poor performance in Mathematics in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations, the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations and the General Certificate in Education (GCE) examinations in recent years in Nigeria and students reluctance in studying Mathematics related courses.

The negative attitude and poor performance produced has continued to subject teachers to criticisms of poor characteristics and lack of necessary professional qualification. This study sought to investigate the perception of students with respect to their teachers’ characteristics- knowledge of Mathematics contents, communication ability, use of appropriate teaching methods and classroom management’s skills- as they influence students’ attitude towards Mathematics.

Research Questions

The study sought to answer the following questions:

• What is the relationship between how students perceive their teachers with respect to teachers’ knowledge of Mathematics contents and their attitude towards Mathematics

• How does students’ perception of their teachers’ communication ability relate with students’ attitude towards Mathematics

• What is the relationship between how students’ perceive their teachers’ ability to use appropriate instructional method and their attitude towards Mathematics

• What is the relationship between students’ perception of their teachers’ classroom management skills and attitude towards Mathematics

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were postulated to guide the study:

• How students perceive their mathematics teachers’ knowledge of Mathematics contents does not relate significantly with their attitude towards Mathematics

• Students perception of their Mathematics teachers’ communication ability does not relate significantly with their attitude towards Mathematics

• Students perception of their Mathematics teachers’ ability to use appropriate instructional method does not

• relate significantly with their attitude towards Mathematics

• How students perceive their Mathematics teachers’ classroom management skills does not significantly relate with their attitude towards Mathematics

The expost facto correlational design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of all the 1500 public Senior Secondary School Two (SSS2) students in the 15 public secondary schools in Ekiti State Southwest, Nigeria. The cluster and simple random sampling techniques were adopted in drawing the sample of the study which stood at 1500.

Two research instruments were developed and used for the study. These were Students’ Perception of Teacher’s.

Characteristics Questionnaire (SPTCQ) and Students’ Attitude towards Mathematics Questionnaire (SATMQ).

The SPTCQ consisted of 36 items on teachers’ characteristics and the SATMQ contained 30 items on students’ attitudes.

The copies of the questionnaire were critiqued for face validity by asking experts in curriculum studies and educational evaluation departments to review the items. This led to the correction of some grammatical expressions, re-structuring of some items and outright cancellations of others. Thirty (30) students were drawn outside the sampled area, and a split-half reliability test used to determine the reliability coefficient of the instruments SPTQ and SATMQ. The scores from the two sets were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis and corrected with Spearman – Brown Prophecy formula. This gave the reliability coefficients of 0.67 and 0.82 for SPTCQ and SATMQ respectively, indicating that the instruments were good enough for the study.

The questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. These instruments were administered personally by the researchers in each of the sampled schools with the help of some teachers as assigned by the school authority after permission was granted. The respondents were advised to be honest in their response as information obtained would be treated with all amount of confidentiality and used only as data for the research work. The items in the questionnaire were sorted out according to the variables they were designed to measure.

Positive items were rated from strongly agree (4), agree (3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1), while negative items were scored in the reverse order of strongly disagree (4), disagree (3), agree (2) and strongly agree (1). Data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) for the research questions and (r) subjected to t-statistics for the hypotheses to determine the level of influence of teacher characteristics on students’ attitudes.

This presents the results and the analysis of data collected for the study. The results were analyzed and discussed based on the research questions and research hypotheses that guided the study. 

Research Question 1 

What is the students’ view of their Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter which can affect their learning outcomes in Mathematics?

The results in Table 1 showed that 78% on the average agreed with all the items on Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter. 

The overall mean of all the items was x ̅ = 3.13. This means that all the students agreed with all the items measuring their Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter can their learning outcomes in mathematics. Top of this was (90.5%) with greater than 90% and the mean of 2.52 that my teachers use unambiguous language when teaching. None of the item was less than 2.5 mean on Mathematics teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter.

The results in Table 1 showed that, out of 12 items, are use agreed that mastery of the subject matter affect their learning outcomes in Mathematics. 

Table 1: Analysis in Percentages of Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge of the Subject Matter Which Can Affect Their Learning Outcomes in Mathematics 

N.B: Using SPSS to run the questionnaire, it will gives us decimal point is equal to 100%

Table 2: Analysis in Percentages of Mathematics Teachers’ Various Attitude to Work Which Can Influence Their Learning Outcomes in Mathematics

Table 3: Analysis in Percentages of Mathematics Teachers’ Attitude to the Teaching of Mathematics and on Their Learning Outcomes in Mathematics

However they they disagreement that, my teachers use unambiguous language when teaching, respond to questions or usually disagree with stated answers in the textbook and constantly consulting the answer key at the back of the teacher’s guide can affect their learning outcomes Mathematics.

It followed by items which states that, teachers explain and show us how to obtain or derive formulae from fundamental principle; (e.g. formulae for solving Mathematics problem), teachers create connection between what he/she teaches us and with everyday experiences, teachers permit us to point out corrections for him/her teachers agree to his/her mistakes when we perceive it and teachers explain what he/she teaches with real objects respectively. All above 80% agreement while the least was item 1 with 50.6% that teacher knows how to explain mathematical problems to student.

Figure 1: Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge of the Subject Matter (%)

Note: Acronyms and chart are not explained N.B: See Appendix III on page 126 on the Project

Figure 2: Mathematics Teachers’ Various Attitude to Work (%)

From the Figure 1 explained the students’ perception of responded in Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter. The above annotated line graph indicated (%) of both Agree (A), Strong Agree (SA) and Disagree (D) and Strong Agree (SD) which was added together to mean Agree (A) and Disagree (D) respectively.

In terms on Mathematics teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter, where on item 3 which states that, teachers use unambiguous language when teaching added together to mean agree of 90.5%. It followed by items which states that, teachers explain and show us how to obtain or derive formulae from fundamental principle; (e.g. formulae for solving Mathematics problem), teachers create connection between what he/she teaches us and with everyday experiences, teachers permit us to point out corrections for him/her teachers agree to his/her mistakes when we perceive it and teachers explain what he/she teaches with real objects respectively.

Research Question 2

What is the students’ view of their Mathematics teachers’ various attitude to work which can influence on their learning outcomes in Mathematics?

The results as presented in Table 2 revealed that 83% on the average agreed with all the items on Mathematics teachers’ various attitude to work which can influence their learning outcomes in Mathematics.

Figure 3: Mathematics Teachers’ Attitude to the Teaching of Mathematics (%)

All above 80% agreement while the least was item 9 with 64.0% that teacher give room for rapport in the class.

From the Figure 2 explained the students’ perception of responded in Mathematics teachers’ various attitude to work. The above annotated line graph indicated (%) of both Agree (A), Strong Agree (SA) and Disagree (D) and Strong Agree (SD) which was added together to mean Agree (A) and Disagree (D) respectively.

In terms on Mathematics teachers’ various attitude to work, where on item 1 which states that, teachers come to class punctually added together to mean agree of 93.0%. It followed by items which states, teachers dress properly when teaching Mathematics, work examples with the students in the class, come to class regularly, students enjoy class atmosphere, teacher makes his/her class a place where students like to be and marks assignments regularly.

Research Question 3 

What is the students’ view of their Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics on their learning outcomes in Mathematics?

The results of Table 3 showed that 75% on the average agreed with all the items on Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics.

The overall mean of all the items was x ̅ = 3.06. This means that the students agreed with all the items measuring of their Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics. Top of these are greater than 80% and the mean of greater than 3.61 that teacher talk about importance of Mathematics, attitude contribute toward our attention in classrooms, influence our attitude to Mathematics, provides opportunities for students to be actively engage in Mathematics activities, makes Mathematics interesting, and talk about providing directions to the assignment given out. None of the items are less than that 2.3 mean on Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics. All agreed that mastery of the Mathematics teachers attitude to the teaching of mathematics on their learning outcomes in Mathematics. However, they disagreement that teacher does not seem to enjoy teaching Mathematics and always from his/her face in the class. 

It followed by items which states that teacher’s examples correlate with the assignments given out and interact with us during Mathematics lesson. All above 80% agreement while the least was item 2 with 42.2% that teacher does not seem to enjoying teaching Mathematics.

From the Figure 3 explained the students’ perception of responded of Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics. The above annotated line graph indicated (%) of both Agree (A), Strong Agree (SA) and Disagree (D) and Strong Agree (SD) which was added together to mean Agree (A) and Disagree (D) respectively.

In terms on Mathematics teachers’ attitude to the teaching of Mathematics, where on item 9 which states that, teachers about the importance of Mathematics added together to mean agree of 87.8%. It followed by items which states, teachers’ attitude contribute toward our attention in classrooms, influenced our attitudes to Mathematics, provides opportunities for students to be actively engaged in Mathematics activities, makes Mathematics interesting and talk about providing directions to the assignments given out respectively.

The result of this study indicates that teachers characteristics – knowledge of the contents to be taught, communication ability, ability to employ appropriate instructional strategies and competence in classroom management, relate significantly with students’ attitude towards Mathematics. Teachers’ characteristics are positively correlated with students’ attitude towards Mathematics. When students’ perception of their teachers’ characteristics is low, it could result in their negative attitude towards Mathematics and vice versa. Mathematics teachers should therefore strive to exhibit sound and effective pedagogical traits to earn their students’ high perception. This will then engender students’ positive attitude towards Mathematics. As students’ attitude improves, so will their commitment to the subject and their achievement will be enhanced.

Recommendations

On the basis of the findings of the study; it is recommended that:

• Teachers of mathematics should periodically be given opportunities to update their knowledge through in-service training and retraining courses to increase their knowledge base in their subject area

• Teachers should adopt good communication techniques through verbal and non-verbal means that would attract students’ attention and enhance effective communication during lesson

• More than one teaching method should be appropriately adopted in a single lesson presentation by a teacher so as to carry every student along, create variety, minimize boredom and enhance interest in what is being taught and learnt

• Teachers should create good classroom management strategies, to ensure democratic, disciplined and conducive atmosphere before and during every lesson

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