P. Menaga Sri, R. Bagdha Vatchala Perumal
The Gandhigram Rural Institute (DTBU), Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India
R. Vinodh Kumar
Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
Pages: 325-335
This study determined secondary-stage students’ challenges in learning mathematics
in the Salem District of Tamil Nadu, India. A cross-sectional survey research design
was employed, and a convenient sample of 300 ninth-grade students participated in
this study. The researchers developed the “Challenges in Learning Mathematics Scale,”
a five-point Likert-type scale, to collect data. The data were collected from the students
by directly visiting the schools and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
The findings revealed that secondary-stage students faced moderate levels of challenges
in learning mathematics. The findings also revealed several specific challenges that
students encounter when learning mathematics, such as poor understanding of
mathematics concepts in previous classes, feeling bored in mathematics classes,
forgetting mathematical formulas and concepts, using uninteresting teaching aids by
mathematics teachers, employing traditional teaching methods by mathematics
teachers, and feeling anxious during mathematics classes. Furthermore, the study
revealed no significant gender difference in the challenges faced by students in learning
mathematics, but a significant difference was found based on the medium of instruction.
The findings emphasise the need for specific educational interventions to address the
challenges faced by secondary-stage students in learning mathematics and to enhance
their conceptual understanding of the subject.