ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND STUDENTS’ INTEREST, ATTITUDE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS IN MKPAT ENIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of incorporating ethnomathematics in teaching and learning on students’ interest, attitude, and academic performance in Mathematics in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Three research questions and corresponding null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all 2,125 SS2 students in the 16 public secondary schools in the study area. The sample of the study comprised 97 SS2 students drawn from two public secondary schools using simple random sampling. The instruments used for data collection were the Mathematics Performance Test (MPT), Mathematics Interest Scale (MIS), and Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ). The instruments were validated by experienced Mathematics teachers and an expert in Measurement and Evaluation. Reliability coefficients of 0.79, 0.81, and 0.85 were obtained for the MPT, MIS, and MAQ respectively, using Kuder Richardson-20 (KR20) reliability estimate. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent t-test at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant difference in students’ interest, attitude, and performance in Mathematics, with students exposed to ethnomathematics incorporated instruction performing significantly better than those taught with the expository method. Based on these findings, it was recommended, among other things, that Mathematics teachers should adopt ethnomathematics-based teaching strategies to enhance students' interest, attitude, and academic performance in Mathematics.