Challenges of Teaching and Learning Mathematics at Secondary Level in Bangladesh

Abstract

The present thesis entitled “Challenges of Teaching and Learning Mathematics at Secondary Level in Bangladesh” explores the challenges of teachers and students faced in teaching and learning mathematics at secondary level in Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh likes to turn the students into human resource by providing them proper education at the secondary level particularly developing their mathematical skills as many of them give up their education after finishing secondary education. The study focuses on the things included in the textbooks which have made them interactive, feelings of mathematics teachers as well as of students for the textbooks, teachers’ skills and knowledge required for using` the textbooks successfully in the classroom, that teachers are really doing with the teaching materials in textbooks, their problems and difficulties in using the textbooks, the ways of overcoming these difficulties, the training available for improving teachers’ teaching skills, students’ difficulties in using the textbooks and the means of overcoming teachers’ as well students’ difficulties in using the textbooks successfully in the classroom to achieve the objectives mentioned in the preface of the textbooks. Therefore it was very crucial to carry on the research in order to know what is really happening in the classroom of mathematics. The study was designed to investigate some key questions which were derived from its aims along with the question related to the objectives. Main objectives of the study are i) to find out the challenges of urban and rural mathematics teachers are facing in the classroom in teaching mathematics, ii) to find out the problems of urban and rural student are facing in the classroom in learning mathematics and iii) to find out the significant factors that are affecting teaching and learning in urban and rural area. The study was qualitative in nature data were both qualitative and quantitative. All the Head teachers, Mathematics teachers and students of class nine and ten of Rajshahi district in Bangladesh constituted the population of the study. The required data have been collected from 40 secondary schools 20 from urban and 20 from rural of four upazila under the district of Rajshahi through questionnaires and interviews of the respondent’s mathematics teacher and students and total sample size was 520. Study area, schools and teachers are selected purposively and students are selected by using Simple Random Sampling (SRS) method through random number table. As the main focus in the study was on the teaching-learning process in the mathematics classroom, an observation checklist has prepared which contents 30 observation for selected schools in order to get a complete picture of how teachers and students are teach and learn and what really happens in the classroom. Most of the teachers except a very few were found to enter the class without lesson plans, so their classes were not structured and the objectives of the particular lessons were far behind from being realized. On the other hand, where teachers had lesson plans, teaching went on smoothly, every task was done and students were happy. In most classes teachers failed to create healthy atmosphere as they did not use any warmer. A significant change was noticed in correcting students’ mistakes. Students reported that their teachers are gentle, but they like to see their teachers more gentle in correcting mistakes and they don’t like to be punished in the classroom. Most of the teachers entered the classroom with no smile on their faces and students were found fearful in these classes. In a few classes students were very lively and enjoyed their learning as their teachers were very friendly and smiling. The logistic regression coefficients of educational qualification, professional training, time allocation and type of schools on the SSC result 2008 are 20.339, 0.192, 0.177 and 0.916 respectively and these are positive in sign. The odds ratio educational qualification and type of schools have 6.809 and 2.500 times higher impact and time allocation have (1-0.577)x100=42.3% lower impact as compared to the coefficient professional training (reference category) on the SSC result of the year 2008 in the school of urban area. The logistic regression coefficients of educational qualification, professional training, time allocation and type of schools on the SSC result 2009 are 20.107, 0.496, 0.288 and 1.792 respectively and these are positive in sign of urban area. The logistic regression coefficients of professional training, time allocation and type of schools on the SSC result 2010 are 19.476, 39.827 and 1.792 respectively and these are positive in sign and educational qualification is -38.727 negative in sign, of urban area. The regression coefficients of professional training, time allocation and types of schools are 17.765, 33.264, and 2.672 and educational qualification -31.892 respectively on the SSC result 2011 in the school of urban area. The odds ratio corresponding to the variables professional training type of schools and educational qualification are 3.729, 7.000 and 0.213 respectively. It indicates that the variables professional training and type of schools have 3.729 and 7.000 times higher impact and educational qualification has (1-0.213) x100=78.7% lower impact as compared to the coefficient time allocation on the SSC result of the year 2011 in the school of urban area. The regression coefficients of teacher corresponding to educational qualification and professional training are -0.693, -19.909 respectively and these are in negative in sign and time allocation 22.106 in positive sign of rural area. The odds ratio professional training has 2.258 times higher impact and educational qualification has (1-0.500) x 100=50% lower impact as compared to the coefficient time allocation on the SSC result of the year 2011 in the school of rural area on the SSC result 2011 than that of variable time allocation (reference category). The regression coefficients of teacher corresponding to professional training, time allocation and type of schools are 1.552, 0.458 and 2.514 respectively and these are positive in sign and educational qualification -1.218 is negative in sign on the SSC result 2o12of urban area. Finally it is conducted on the basis of the information as well as the opinions expressed by the respondents that the present contents of mathematics are hard which discourages the students to solve math problems. Moreover, students need to undergo extra labor and privet tuition to do well in the exam of mathematics subject. Secondary level is very important in the education system of Bangladesh. Many subjects taught at this level. Mathematics was one of the major subjects that were compulsory for all secondary students but the teacher who were teaching the subject did not have enough knowledge in modern teaching method. It may conclude that the challenges identified in this study are more or less similar in all over Bangladesh. The findings suggested that the concerned authority would take immediate measures to get rid of the challenges of teaching mathematics of the secondary level in Bangladesh.