Abstract

TEACHERS? PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF MATHEMATICS LABORATORY FOR TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN YENAGOA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BAYELSA STATE

Dr. Charles-Owaba, Tekenate1 and Abuge Iwani Dorcas2

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The study examined Teachers? Perception on the Use of Mathematics Laboratory for the Teaching of Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Descriptive Survey Research Design was adopted for the study. The research was guided by three (3) objectives, three (3) research questions and two (2) corresponding research hypotheses respectively. The population of the study was made up of two hundred (200) mathematics teachers, in the thirty-four (34) government owned secondary schools in the Yenagoa Educational zone of the state of interest, while the sample consisted of seventy five (75) mathematics teachers drawn from ten (10) schools through criterion sampling technique. The instrument used for the study was Teachers? Perception on the use of Mathematics Laboratory Questionnaire (TPMLQ). The instrument contains 12-items measured on a 4-point Likertscale. The instrument was validated by experts and subjected to reliability test which yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.83 using Kudder-Richardson 21 formula. The data gathered were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics. Findings revealed that mathematics teachers have a positive perception on the use of mathematics laboratory for teaching mathematics in secondary schools. The researchers therefore, recommended that government and proprietors of private schools should provide mathematics laboratories in all secondary schools to aid meaningful learning. Keywords: Mathematics laboratory, teachers, perception, secondary school.

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