University of Nigeria Research Publications

MBAEZE, Charles Ikechukwu

Aut

hor

PG/M.Sc/96/22702

Title

Impact of Maternal Employment Gender Differences and Locality on Children

Achievement in Mathematics

Facu

lty

Social Science

Dep

artm

ent

Psychology

Dat

e

June, 1999

Sign

atur

e

TITLE PAGE

Impact of Maternal Emp!oyment, Gender Diffcrences and Locality, . . . .

.' .on Children's Achievement in Mathematics. . . . - -

. .

A Thesis report presented in partial fulfilment for the award of the Master ' . . .

of science degree (M.Sc) in Developmental I'sychoiogy

Mbaeze, Charlqs Ikechukwu PG/M. ~d96/22702

Dcpartment of P ~ y c h o l ~ g y . . University of Nigeria , .

Nsukka.

Supervisor: S.C. !lechutwu, M.SC (Cant&)

DEDICATION

This academic work is dedicated to m y parents, Mr. Michael

Mbaeze and Mrs. Louisa Mbaeze, m y brothers (Malachy and Anthony) and '

6

my sisters (Priscilla, Martina and Helen (Nellie) for their untiring and

rrm-vellous eflbrts and prayers to see me acquire M.Sc degree in -. ..

Developmental Psycl~ology.

. . , ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

. . . . .., ! ~ i s h to express izy profound gratitude to my supervl$r, S.C.

, . . .

Ilechukwu, M.Sc (Cantab) whose valuable and immense academic . ,; . . ,

suggestions helped in making this work a success. Also to share in my

chains of appreciation are Prof: B.N. Ezeilo, p$J.O.C. Ozioko, Rev. Pr, . . . . . , , .

-' . (Dr.) M.C. Ife'eagwazi, Prof. I.E. Eyo and other !ecturers in the Department 1.'. . . . . - - . .

of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Also the typists: Obinna . *

and Emma who heiped me immensely in typing the manuscript, and my ' .

fellow postgraduate students (Mrs. F.U. Agu and Mr. Sunday Eze) whose

. , . praycrs hclped to sec mo through the programme, 1 oi'i'er immense . . . . . .

. . . gratitude.

. Last!y, I am very much indebted to Barrister B.C. Asogwa and Mr

and Mrs C.U. ugwoke for their unflinching support in the course of

producing this work. .

Mat

ABSTRACT

ernal emp!oyment, gender diffferences . .

and locality among urban v 5 . .

and rural secondary school, students in Nsukka zone to determine the . :

performance of JSS I11 students in mathematics tests, were investigated in

this study.

. . Two hundred and forty participants comprising 30 children of urban ,

i ~ o r k i n g mothers, 30 children of urban nonworking mothers, 30 urban male : ,

. .

children, 30 urban female children, 30 children of rural working mothers, . .

30 children of rural nonworking mothers, 30 rural male children and 30 . .

rural lkmale children, selvctcd tlirougli a stratilicd ralidoln sampling , ' '

mcthod, were used for the study. The mathematics tests were administered

to the participants. The scores of the participants ranged from 2 to 10

marks. Four hypotheses were postulated and tested. A 2 x 2 x 2 factoria!

- design was used, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze

the data. Results showed thaj children of working mothers performed

better than the children of nonworking mothers (P < 0.01); male children

performed better than female children (P<0.0 1)' and urban children scored. . . .

significantly higher than rural children (W0.001). There was a statistically

significant interaction effect due to matefnal employnlcnt, gender

differences and locality (i' < 0.001) in each case. Recommendations were

made based on the implications of the findings.

Table o f Contents

TITLE PAGE . . . . .. . . . . .

. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.. . . . . . .

ABSTRACT .. .. .. .. . . . .

TABLE OF CONTENTS .. . . .. ..

LIST OF TABLES .. . . . . . . . . . .

, , LIST OF APPENDICES .. . . .. . .

CHAPTER ONE:,Introduction .. . . . .

Operational Definitions of-Terms .. .. . .

Research Questions .. . . . . . .

Purpose of the Study . . . . . .

CHAPTER TWO: Peview of Litcraturc .. .. . . .

Theoretical Review .. . . .. ..

Empirical Review .. . . .. . . . . .

Statement of the Problem .. .. . s

CHAPTER THREE: Method . . . . . . . .

PAGE

. . 1

. . . . I I

... . . 111

.. iv

.. v .

. . vii

.. viii

. . 1

.. 4

.. 4 '

. . 5

. . G

.. G

.. 12

.. 20

. . 2 1

. . 2 2

. .

Participants .. . . . . .- .. . . 22 . .

, . Instrumcnt

Procedure .. . .

" 5 . - . . Design . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 , .

. . . . Statistics .. . . . . . . . . . . 26

. . , . .

CHAPTER FOUR: Results .. . . . . . . . . 27

, , . , Summary of Main Findings . -

' . ' . : - CHAPTER FIVE: Discussion

Implications of the Findings

Limitations of the Study .. .. .. . . 37 . . . . . . . . . . I

Suggestions for Future Research .. . . . . 38

Summary and Conclusions .. . . .. .. 39

Recommendations . . . . . . 43 .

References .. . . . . . . . . 47

Autobiography . . . . . . . . . . .

Instrunlent ..

Procedure .. . . " Design .. : .

. . Statistics .. . .

CHAPTER FOUR: Results .. , . . .

. . . . Summaty of Main Findings . - . - . , 29 .

. . . . . . .

.' : .' CI~APTER FIVE: Discussion . . . . . . 30 . ,

Implications of the Findings ..

Limitations of the Study .. .. . . . . 3 7 ., -. .,,-.,

Suggestions for Future Research .. . . . . 38

Summary and Conclusions .. . . . . .. 39 . .

Recommenciations

References .. .. .. . . .. 47

Autobiography . . .. . . .. .. .

LIST OF APPENDICES

. Appendix A: Mathematics tests

B: Pilot S t ~ ~ d y

C: J.S.S. 111 Mathematics Scheme of Work

D: Arrangement of Data for A three - factor Experiment

E: Computation of Raw Data of A three - factor Experiment.

Chapter One

Introduction

The increasing number of women who form the sole support for families,

as well as the desire of many women to combine careers and motherhood, gives

urgency to questions concerning the impact of maternal employment, gender

differences and locality on children's achievement in Mathematics. Because

women have been primarily responsible for child rearing, understanding the

ways in which children dcvclop when maternal employment, gender and locality

are considered is of crucial intcrcst. Investigation of thc consequences of

matcrnal employment on children's achievement in Mathematics derive from the ,

. concern about possible negative consequences of' changes in traditional family

roles. Thai is, abuse and ncglcct sufTercd by children whose mothers are

working.

'I'here has bwn much hcated argument hat male and female children do

differ in their achievcmcnt in Mathcinatics (Onibokun, 1979). Also researchers

have focused on the role of gender as one of the influencing factors in children's

achievemcnl in Mahhcmatics. This, o f course, varics from culturc to culturc

depending on peoplc's motivalion (Obodo, 1091) . 11 also varics among

individuals who may be Ibund to be inlernally or cxtcrnally motivated to make

success. Gender dif'crcnccs have also been a subject of controversy among

parents, guardians, scholars and teachers. 'The prescnt study will help to find out

if there are any difTercnces between tlic genders to wurrrlr~t blaming the disparity

in the Mathematical achievcincnt ol'childrcn.

The school cnvironmcnt has bccn vicwcd to kc onc of the factors

influencing secondary school-children's achicvcmcnt in Mathenlatics

(Egboluche, 1991). Urban school children arc said to be exposed to various

facilities which enhance children's learning and acquisition of skills in

Mathematics unlike the nlral school children who do not seem to be so lucky. A

It is a result of shifting of some women from their primary roles of'housc

keepers to also engaging in cn~ployincnt, that tliis st~ldy aims at finding out ils

consequences on the mathe~natical achievement of' their children. 'J'lw argurnent

bcing gcneratcd as to the difkrcnccs in thc achicvcment of both genders md

children f'rom difTerent locations of' school warranted this study. For the

purposes of this study, the researcher lixuscs on mathematical achievement uf

secondary school children as a dependent variable because mathematics

facilitates the understanding 01' conccpts in different fields of learning, real life

situations and the solutions of other problems (Gire, 1988). 'The object of the

s t ~ ~ d y of mathematics is two Ibld namely: (a) the acquisition oS useful knowledge

and (b) the activation and the clisciplinc 01' the mental activity and li~nctioning

success. Gender differences have also been a subject of controversy among

parents, guardians, scholars and teachers. 'flic prcscnt study will hclp to find out

if there are any di Sfercnces between tl~c gcndcrs to warrr~nt blaming the disparity

in the Mathematical achievcmcnt of'childrcn.

The school cnvironmcnt has been vicwcd to bc one of' the factors

influencing secondary school-children's achievcment in Mathematics

(Egboluche, 1991). Urban school children arc said to be exposed to various

facilities which enhance children's li.arning and acquisi~ion 01' skills in

Mathematics unlike the niral school children who do not seem to be so lucky. .X

It is a result of shifting 01' some women li-om their primary roles of' house

keepers to also engaging in en~ployment, that tllis study aims at linding out its

consequences on the mathematical achicvcrncnt ol'their children. ' 1 ' 1 ~ argument

being gcncrated as to the diSfcrenccs in the :~chievcment of both genders and

children l'rom dil'i'erent locations of' school warranted this study. For the

purposes of this study, the researcher lhcuscs on mathematical achievement uf

secondary school children as a depcndcnt variable because mathematics

facilitates the understanding oi' concepts in difkrent fields of learning, real life

situations and thc solutions of other problems (Gire, 1988). The object of the

study of mathematics is two lbld namely: (a) the acquisition of useful knowledge

and (b) the activation and the clisciplir~c 01' the mental activity and fitnctioning

(Obodo, 1 99 1 ).

In Nigeria, a strung mathematical achievement is a prerequisite for cntry

into colleges of education, polytechnics and universities I'or prolkssional studies.

This study is bcing conducted to determine the possible impact and relevance of

maternal employment, gendcr cli1'ii.rences and locality on children's performance

in mathematics. It stemmed from the fact that mathematical concepts are made

use of in dailyleveryday lives such as in business, in calculating monthly wages,

in budgeting and in computing examination rcsults. I:urthermorc, this study

evaluatcs the uscfi~lness and relcvancc of maternal employment, gcncier

dii'l'erences anti locality in promoting children's achievelncnt in mathcmatics in

the Nigerian setting.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Maternal Employmcnt: This is a situation where a mother engrlges in an

occupation outside home rnanagement e.g. a mother who is a teacher or who h

works in thc offices, companies, ministries and etc.

Gender .Differences: This is the tendency to maintain that succcss of any

children in solving mathematical problems is dcpendcnt upon being a male or a

female.

Locality: This is the tendency to maintain tha t the performance 9f children is

Locality: This is the terlcluncy to maintain that the performance of children is

dependent upon where the school is located, that is, an urban or a rural area.

Children's Achievement in Mathematics: 'l'his is the performance ol'the childrcn

in solving mathematical proble~ns.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Do maternal employment, gender and locality inleract with one another to

affect children's achievement in solving Mathematical problcms?

Do differences cxist between cltildrcn ol'working mothers and those of n

nonworking mothers in solving mathematical problcms?

Do difircnccs exist bctwecn male and female children in solving

mathematical problems?

Do differences exist between children of urban, and those of rural schools

in solving mathematical problcms'!

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The study sought to determine il' maternal employment or non

employment had any impact on the children's mathematical achievement that is

in the solutions of mathematical problcms. It also dctcrmincd if gender creates

differences between male and kmalc childrcn in schools.

Also it tried to tlcter~ilinc i f ' the location ol' the schools, that is whether

urban or the rural setting had any impact on the children's achievement in

mathematical tests.

The study sought to determine if there was an interaction ef'fect among

maternal employment, gender differences and locality on children's performance

in mathematical tests.

Chapter Two

. Review of Literature -------- ----

'l'he ro!e of maternal ,employment, gender and locality on the

development of children's mathematical ability has been a .puzzling issue

. for quite a long time, among different scholars, researchers and theorists.. . .: ' In order to have a wider view of the influence of these conflicting variables

as put forward by different researchers and theorists, this researcher decided . :

to take the variables involved in this study one by one under theoretical.

, ' and empirical reviews.

Thcoretkal Review

For many years, the Nigcrian society has been used to arrangements

Pivouring nonworking mothers. Mothers who work outside the home were , .

considered neglectful. of their children who in turn were classified as being

unfortunate. Now, all of that has changed. Beginning in 1986, the labour

. ,force included for the first time a majority of mothers whose children were

not yet grown. As mothers of infants cnter the labour force, behavioural

scientists such as (Hoffman, 1974; Etaugh, 1974) became increasingly . . '

, ' interested in the effects of maternal. employment on children's achievement

. in mathematics. Authors of rccent analytical reviews of rcsearch focusing .

Chapter Two

The ro!e of maternal , employment, gender and locality on the

development of children's mathematical ability has been a .puzzling issue

' . for quite a long time, among difkrent scholars, researchers and theorists., ' .

In order to have a wider view of the influence of these conflicting variables

: . as put forward by different researchers and theorists, this researcher decided

to take the variables involved in this study one by one under theoretical.

and' empirical reviews.

?-heoretical Review --

For many years, the Nigcrian society has been used to arrangements

hvouring nonworking mothers. Mothers who work outside the home were

considered neglectful, of their children who in turn were classified as being

unfortunate. Now, all of that has changed. Beginnkg in 1986, the labour

. force included for the first time a majority of mothers whose children were

' not yet grown. As mothers of infants enter the labour force, behavioural

scientists such as (Hoffman, 1974; Etaugh, 1974) became increasingly

, ' interested in the effects of mnternal. employment on children's achievement

, . ' in mathematics. Authors of rccent analytical reviews of rcsearch focu.sing .

on ci'fkcts 01' maternal employment on thc childrcn concluded that the

influence of maternal employment specifically on the development ,of ,the . .

young children is limited and that other factors such as gender and locality ' I

may be more critical than maternal employment. However, a single wage

earner could sustain entire family 20 or 30 years ago. Today, things are

different. Many families can only find it easier to make ends meet if both.

. . the husband and the wife hold full time jobs. Statistics conducted in U.S.A.

also indicate another reason. In 1984, 1 out of 4 mothers was s i~g le ; by

-1993 it was 1 out of 43. The financial burden faced by these women

- typically requires them to work outside the home. . .

. . . . I n the present century, researchers make statements that equi/led the

. . , .

. . abilities of women with those of primitive people or children, beliefs that'are +

today found ridiculous. Even Freud argued that females were ~sychologically

. - inferior (Horney, 1939). But what is actually known about gender' . . ' . .

. . -differences? Except for obvious anatomical differences, and the fact that one .

, gender has the ability to give birth, what true gender differences are there? '

One part of the debate has focused on the term gender differences. It is argued

that a real gender difference exists. What is observed in people, on the other

hand, should be considered a gender-related variation in ability, because on .

the average, one gender may bc slightly better than the othcr at certain

skills (Caplan, Macpherson iind 'l'obin, 1985).

However, us it is dclined, "gender difl'erences" is a hot issue. And

while it is probably correct to say that it nmy still be a long way from

hiiving solid answers to the questions, the discoveries made so Par have

been intriguing. The first thing that may surprise one is that the major

topics in this lield are very specific ones such us gender differences in

spatial ability or mathematical skill, rather than broader aspects of

personality, such as gender dilkrences in emotion or aggression.

The modern field of gender differences dates back to 1974 when

Elianor Maccoby and Clark Jacklin published The J'zchology of Gender

Differences hoping to document thoroughly, or to dismiss many of the

belief's concerning gender dil'l'erences in behaviour. They discovered that

thcre were a few real gendcr dinkrences. Among these dill'erences was a

superior spatial ability among 'boys. Spatial ability is the ability to

understand how objects would appear at dilkrent angles and how they

would relate to each other in a given space. Afer this, miny biological

theories to explain thcsc ditkrences w a x proposed (Kimura, 1985). The

concern over the problem ofsuperior nlale spatial ability led to an

' . enormous amount of research in this area. For example, while supposed

8 ,

, differences in spatial ability raised a few eye-brows, the reported .

dil'!'crcnces in nlathcnlatical ability causcd a great c.xcitcmcnt. In 1979, two .

researchers Benbow and Stanley gave the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), .

which includes mathematical and verbal portions, to 9,927 seventh, and .. .

eight graders in U.S.A. who had the same exposure to mathematics,.

;.' regardless of gender. The boys performed significantly better than the girls

. . on the mathematics portion.

In opposition, somc researchers argued that these kinds of tests alone . .

. do not demonstrate in any conclusive way that the superior mathematical ' . ' ,

. .

ability-01 li~alcs is due to biological or brain dilYierences. ~ur thcrmok, even , .

. .. . . if male mathematical superiority were traced to sexually differentiated brain . .

. , . . .

structures, such structures might still be the result of early childhood

, ' experience, because early experience might dictate the development . o f . . . . .

. : .-specialized brain organization. Another possibility is that girls are . .

' . . socialized to be ali.aid of mathematics, or to believethat they cannot master . '

its obvious complexities (Licht znd Dweck, 1984). In a detailed critique

presented in 1985, that is, the ycar of research supporting male superiority . .

. - in spatial ability was dismissed because of faulty methodology, debatable . , ..

statistics, observer-bias and liilurc to dclinc adequately what was meant

by "spatial ability" (Caplun, Macpherson, and 'I'obin, 1985). As a result,

many researchers disniiisscd thc previously held bclicl' that males have a

superior spatial ability.

11-1 1902 rcscarchers revised the issuc oi' gender dil2'crcnccs in

spatial ability when it was discovcrcd that among females at age 16,

spatial ability was best predicted by how masculine the girls had mted

themselves to be when they were 1 1 ycars old such as how much they 0

wished to be boys (Ncwconibc and Dubas, 1992). Perhaps this means that

"masculinity", rather than maleness, is somehow associated with better

spatial skills. 1;or insta~lce, do certain "mule" activities enhance spatial

skills? Or do biological variables link masculinity in either gender with

increased spatial skills? No one yet knows, but research in this interesting

area is continuing. Generalimtions drawn from gender differences by

different researchers have made this study imperative. ?'he outcome of

this study will help to clarify the true position of' gender differences on the

children's achievement in niatheniutics.

Available research results in Nigcria (Ezeorah, 1986; Obodo,

1990) have actdressed thc issue of locality on children's achievement in

mathematics. 'I'hey contend that locality is one of the determinants in

I I

0

children's achievcmcnt in mat hemut ics. The location of schools

determines the nature of hcilities hat would b e available to the children to

enhance thcir learning and acquisition ofskills in mathematics. Locality is

classified into two mrijor divisions: urban and rural.

The urban type is situated in the towns or cities where there are

enough and sophisticated hcilities which enhance children's

understanding of concepts in mathematics. 'T'hc urban school has well

equipped library, laboratory, traincd, eSficient and dedicated teachers.

Because of these Ikilitics, children can easily improve their knowledge of

mathcmat ics.

On thc other hand, a rural school is the type that is situated in

remote areas where there are not enough hcilities for the children to

improve the same knowlcdge. Such schools lack enough manpower and

facilities Tor mathematics teaching and learning, that is, thc children are

not cxposccl to sophisticated Ihcilitics lbr conducive learning of

mathematics. Though the school has books, thcy are not enough and

many a time they are outdated. As a result of this situation the negative

impact of locality on children's achievement in mathematics is great.

Urban school children, therefore, scem to perform better than thc rum1

school children in mathematics.

Empirical Rcvicw

Available research reports have shown the impact of' maternal

employment on children's achievement in niathcmatics. I:or instance, it

was hypothesized that mothers whose attitudes towards work and whose

employinent are congruent with thcir lcvels of education have children

who are. more competent and show better acijustment to mathematics than

the childrcn of'mothcrs whosc crnploymcnt and altituclcs arc not congruent

with their levels of education (I:arcI, 1980).

Farel (1980) also n-raintainccl that there was no significant

differences on the meusurcs of mathemat ical achicvernen~ and competence

between kindergarten children of' working and thosc ol' nonworking

mothers. 'I'his could be i i rcsult ol' clil'fkrcnt attitudes and behuviours to

cmploymcnt which mothers posscsscci.

As noted in several reviews (litaugh 1974; Iloflinan 1974; Wallston,

1973), diflerences in achievement in mathematics between children of'

working and thosc of' nonworking mothers are elusive. Results of studies

searching lbr such dil'ferenccs have becn inconsistent and minimal. This

confusion may be due, at least in part, to the presence of variables

intervening between mothers' cmploymcnt and their influence on '

children's achievement in mathematics. Such variables arc mothers' lcvcl

of education and attitudes to work.

'Typically, data show that there arc no advcrsc outcomes in

mathematics if a mother ol'a toddler or older child is employed.

AS n~casured by achievenlcnt on 1.0, reading, mthcmatics,

spelling, and linguistic tests during an eight-year longitudinal study in n

Canada, young childrcn ol'working mothcrs wcrc not ordinarily adversely

affected by their mothcrs' en~ployment (Chcrry and Tiaton, 1977). More

recent studies have come to similar conclusions, S i r cxarnple Gottliied and

Gottfiied (1988), especially for girls (Haydar and Brooks-Gunn, 1991). In

fact, many children of' working mothcrs have been found to be superior to

the children of nonworking mothcrs in terms of achievement in

mathematics. Although dutu have shown that working mothers spend

about 2 hours less per day with their children than do non working

mothers (Eastcrbrooks, and Goldberg, 1985), the stability of children's

perSormance in mathematics and attachment to mothers appears generally

to be uniil'fected by maternal cmploymo~t ( t Iof'lhun, 1089).

Employed mothers provide an inccntive to children to set higher

mathcrnatical goals for themselves (Stein, 1973). This is cspccially true for

. . . female children. Female children of working mothers perceive .their - ' . .

mother's role as more satisfying and as more competent than those of

nonworking mothers (Broverman, et a! 1972). Female children, therefore .

seem to admire their working mothers and see them as important role

models. Male children, on the other hand, are often more resentfid when . ,

'

their mothers work. These differences appear to be especially pronounced

among pre-school children (BronfenBrenner, Alvarez and Henderson,

1984).

The present study therefore focuses on working and nonworking

, mothers principally as mothers in the context of their relationships wit5 . .

'. thcir children's achievement in rnathcmatical tests.

L. ' .< . -Am" - L I L I I ~ ~ ~ differences" as one of the variables influencing chtdren's

. . achievement in mathematical tests, has been a controversial issue, too, . '

. .

. a

among scho!.ars. Komarovsky (1946) investigated the average scores of

. high school seniors on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) of the College' , . . .

. - _Entrance Examination and Sound that boys made a total scorc of 527 in ,

. mathematics test while girls made a total score of 467 in mathematics and , *

486 in verbal tests. Kuckenberg. (I 963) posits that poor achievement of

IS

girls in mathcr~latics is due to the hct that they are not encoi~ragcd to

identify with the male role.

llsing 12-14 year old boys and girls, drawn fium single-gender

secondary schools, and tested in Quantitative Aptitude Test (QUA'I')

developed and validated by Obodo ( 1 W7), Obodo maintained that tl~cre is

no signifkant dil'i'erences in thc mathematics test bctwccn both genderes.

This shows t l u t both genderes have equal achievcmcnt in QUAT.

Similarly, the findings of Sherman and lknnenra (1974); I%mxn~n and

Sherman ( 1 977), maintained that boys and girls do I ,

in thcir mathematical potential or achievement.

PiIlai (1 97 I), Labor (1 979); imd Onibokun ( 1

lot dif'fkr significantly

979) in their different

studies showed signilicant gender differences in mathenmtics tests

between boys and girls. ln addition, Obodo (1992) Sound that significant

gender differences existed in Numerical Ability Test (NAT) between male

and female children. The findings of these researchers are however

inconclusive and further studies need to be carried out.

Some rescurchcrs miiintain tllat significant gender dilr'erences in

personality traits can be Sound in intcrcst, p~dcrcncc, attitude, ideals,

perforrancc, mathenlatics test and pcrsonul scnse of vdues.

Consolidating this assertion, Tresmer (1974) remarked that gender

diirerences i n achievement of males and l'crnalcs are both motivated by the

need for success but have difkrent goals in mind. Females are siid to be

concerned with success in social or inter-personal relation, while males are

concerned with success in mathematics or academic perhrmance.

Looking at gender differences in intelligence or academic

achievement, most research finding,; tend to show significant differences

in achievement betwccn thc genders. Om. n ~ y t l ~ is that boys are more

analytic than girls. 1 Iowever, Sorenson (1964) indicated that results of

intelligence tests show that boys rind girls of the same stge are, throughout

thc school ycars, essentially equal in capacity. Following this line of

argument, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) maintained that mcn and women

generally do not differ on tests that measure problem-solving abilities.

Dwayer (1973), showed that gender differences in children's

achievement in mathematics can be seen as a result of socinlization. For

instance, children virtunlly of all ages tend to view mathematics arid

science as masculine fields. In thc same vein, Keniston and Kcniston

(1 964) in their earlier research in 1960 maintained that difi'crentiul practice

with mathematics accounts Ibr some gender dilkrences in the subject. In

othenvords, they,posited that boys are supposed to be good at mathematics' ' .. . because many adult male-dominated occupations deal with figures and

budgets. . * .

On the numerical aptitude tests, boys have been found to achieve

better grades than girls, though such male superiority fails to appear until . I !

. . the children are well into the elementary school period (Gessel 1940). ,

4 . Similarly, male dominance is confirmed only on arithmetic problems and a

host of numerical reasoning tests (NRT) but not in computation test (CT) ,

where there are either no gender ilil-t'erences or more often a difference in ' ' ,

favour of girls (Terman and Tyler, 1954).

In a study carried out by Lewis and Tyler (1954), it was found that

. . . girls typically excel in mathematical reasoning, history, geography and the , . y

. sciences, which is in consonance with Odeyemi's (1983) finding about the , , .

superiority of boys over girls in ingenuity, induction and number series , .

.. completion.

. . c. T.Tnwever, Hogrebe, N i s t and Newman (1985), investigating yhether

or not thcrc is gender dif'f'crcncc in rcading achievement assert that gender - . .

. , accounts for less than 80% of the variable in reading achievement. Lending, '.

. credence to this, Clark (1959), found no basic differences between the < .

genders in reading and achievement in mathematics, but in the basic skill

- areas of !anguage (mechanics of the English language), the performance of

girls was superior to that of boys even after controlhg differences that can .

be attributed to chronological age and mcntal age. Gates ( l bb l ) in i study

, ' involving 13,000 pupils tbund that, on the average, girls of ages between, 8 I

- 1 1 years surpassed boys in reading ability. I I

'This agrees with the previous research findings especially those

involving word fluency, spe lhg , writing and oral tests.

Contemporary research findings have c~nfirmed the claims of earlier . I

rcsearch work. For example, Finnema (1974), Obioma and Ohuche (I98 1) I

'and Ijeoma (1977), have in their various studies on the performance of male

and female students in mathematics, came out with the finding that males . . .

generally perform better than their female counterparts in mathematics

problems. The above assertion was reaffirmed when in 198 1, Obioma. and

'Ohuche again discovered gender differences in mathematical abilities in .

favour of boys. . . .

On the issue of disparity between boys and girls on numerical .

aptitude tests (NAT) some researchers tend to attribute the imbalance .to

naturc while others hold on to nurture. For example, Stafford (1972) had it . ' .

that one of the genes . . coding for good space forms are both x-linked . t

recessive which will always be expressed i n the male who inhefits an x-

Fernale supremacy over'boys in verbal and linguistic functions has

been confirmed with noticeable coilsisteiice by different reseachers on

verbal aptitude tests (VAT) (Martin and Hoover, 1987; Sabers, Cusling

... . Sabers, 1987). 111 otlie~words, the claim that girls tend to outclass boys in

almost all aspects of language learning are being supported by research

findings. Girls have been found to have a larger vocabwlaiy than boys and

also tend to ~ndce more rapid progress in learning to read than boys

(McCarthy, 1935). The above proposition was supported by La Brant

(1933) when in his study of certain language development of grade 4 to 12,

he gave the participants test of co~npositiori writing. His finding showed

that elementary school girls, on the average use 86% as many words as

their female colleagues.

Various insb-urnents have been developed and used by Nigerians and 4

, I : ' I t i , ' ~.,./..'Il , . r l t i 8 , I I 's,' '

these have been assessed for bias due to school location. O b i o m (1982) i

prelimi~iarily and finally developed a diagnostic mathematics achievement , - , -

test (DAMAT) and found that 'locality is'a significant factor in children's -? ! .

performance in muthematics. Iwuji (1982) found that children from urban

and rural schobls performed difSerentially in some sub-tests of a

Differential Aptitude Test (DA'T). Michelniore (1 973) also found that

locality is a signijicant factor in children's pcrf'ormunce while Obioma and

Ohuche (1981) discovcrcd that locality is not a significant factor in

children's mathematics achievement using a n~athemntics achievement test

(MAT).

111 summary, having sccn rhe lindings so h r available in the area of

factors a&cting children's achicvcmcnt in n~athcmotics, thc cli~cstion now

is: which side is arguing the true situation1? This in fact, is not yet known,

but the present study taking cognizance of' thcsc conflicting results is

undertaken to investigate what would be a rclinblc impact of' thc three

variables (maternal cmploymcnt. gender dil'krenccs and locality) on

childrcn's achicvemont in marhematics as nleasured on students'

pcrlormancc in mathcrnarics tests.

Statemcn t of the l'rol,lcm

I. Matcrnul cmploy~ncnt, gcndcr dil'lixcnces and locality intcract to

al'fect children's achievement in solving mathem;ltical problems.

2 . Dit't'erenccs cxist between chiltlrcn o l' working nloil~crs and tlrosc

of nonworking mothers in solving mathematical problems.

7

3. Differences exist b~tween male and Scmrrle children in solving

mathematical problems.

Differences exist between childrcn of urban and those of' ri~ral schools in

solving mathematical problems.

Hypotheses

1 . There would bc n o statistically significant intcsaction cfl'cct among

the variables of maternal employnxnt, gender dit'l'crences and

locality il l children's achicvcmcnt in mathematical problems.

2. . . Ihcrc would bc no statistically significant diffcrenccs between

children of working, and nonworking rnothcrs in mathcnlaticai

aclkvcmcnt as n~easured by their perli)rmancc in nlatlle~nutical

tests. 0

3. There would be no statistically significant dil'f'crences between

male and female children in mathematical achievement as

measured by their performance in mathematical tests.

4. There w o ~ ~ l d bc no statistically significant difli.rericcs betwcen the

children of urban and those of rural schools in mathematical

acllievetncnt as measured by thcir performance in the mathc~natical

tests.

Chapter Three

Method

I'articipants

'The participants includcd a total of two hundrcd and ibrty children

drawn from urban a d rural that is niaking 50% of the total secondary

schools in Nsukka zone. The urban schools are: Saint Teresa's College

(S 'K) Nsukka; Quccn of the Rosary ('ollcgc Nsukka; Boys' Secondary

School, Aku; (B.S.S.A.), Girls' Secondary School, Aku (U.S.S.A.) while

the rural schools are h y s ' IIigh School, Orba (13.1 I.S), Igbo Eze

Grammar School (I.G.S.) Lnugu Ezikc, Ibagwa Girls' Secondary School

(I .G.S.S.), and Owerre I keorba Girls' Secondary School ( 0 . G .S.S.). Thesc

comprise Sour urban schools Sir both male and female children and !bur

rural schools Ibr both mall: and female children respectively. The

researcher uscd the stratilicd rancloni sampling mctllod to categorize and

select the participants: that is the schools arc divided into urban and n~ral

schools and 30 participants liom cach of' the various schools were

randomly selected Srom 12 - 14 years (111c:rn age - 13; S1) - 0.26) old

J.S.S. 111 children oS the schools. This wils done by adrriinistcring the

mathematics tests to t l i t participrmts, collccting the answcr scripts,

separating thcm into eigh dili'crent lcvels 01' t l ~ c . study, sliuflling the

scripts and putting them inside eight different cncloscd boxes. 'Then 30

participants were askcd to dip thcir hands inside each of the boxes and

pick one answer script each without looking and replacing them inside the

box (Kerlinger, 1973). 'I'he scripts of'the participants picked were used for

the study. This applies to all the participants in the study. In both urban

and rural schools, thc participants were clusi ficd as -Ibllows: 30 children

of working mothers. 30 children of nonworking rrmthcrs, 30 lnale children

and 30 kmalc childrcn, rcspcctively.

lnstrument

Data Sor this study were coilcctcd by the usc o l'mnthcmntics tcsls

(Appendix A).

Thcy comprised 1 0 ob.jcctive, quest ions that were constructcd iiom

the J.S.S. 111, 1998 Mathematics scheme of work (Appendix (1) which

were standardized and used to assess children's achicvemcnl in solving

mathematics problems.

The rcsearclxr uscd both split-half' reliability and Spearman-

Brown split-half reliability methods respectively, to determine the

reliability cocllicient of the mathematics tests. 'I'o ensure the reliability of

the scores of the instrument, they were counterrnarked by a lectucer in the

Mathematics Depwtmcnt.

The instrurrlcnt was vnlidatccl by 111c ~ l s c o f content viilidily.

Syllabus, specialists/maslers, books, and what the st udents Icarnt w c ~ c

ccludly rcprcscntcd i l l tllc nl:tlllcl~la~ics tests.

Proccd u re

'The tcsts wcrc adnlinistcred in the classrooms. 'l'hc: ~ C Y C C I ~ C I I C ~

started by introducing himself, indicating where he came from and why

he came, bcfore administering the mathematics tcsts to the participants.

The researcher read the following instructions to the participants. "You are

expected to fill in the lbllowing particulars on the qucstion paper bcfore

beginning to answcr questions:

Age: -. -

Year :

Gcndcr: -.

Your Mothcr's I.,evel o f Lklucation:

(ic. Primary, secondrtry, tertiary, none)

Your Mother's occupation :

They were instructed to attc~npt all the cluestion illside this yucstion paper

and write down your answcr in the space proviclcd for it. Please, use biro

throughout".

The participants' scores ranged from 2 to 1 0 marks with a median of 5.

The minirrlum scorc is 2 to 5 whilc thc lliaxirnunl score is 10. Participants

whose scores ranged from 2 to 5 marks were lowly rated while. the

participants whose scores ranged from 6 to 10 marks were highly rated in . .

the tests.

Design . .

'l'he design is a 2 x 2 ~ 2 Iictoria! design. The factors involved are: b

Maternal employment 2 (children of working mothers and children of non

working mothers) x gender differences 2 (male children and female . ' ~

children) x locality 2 (urban children and rural children) combining, . ,

fictorially to have eight conditions in the study. These included 30

. children of urban working mothers ( cl a,), 30 children of urban 9 .

nonworking mothers (cla2), 30 urban male chi!dren (clb2), 30 urban female.

children (clb2), 30 children of rural working mothers (czal), 30 children of. , '

rural nonworking mothers (c2a2), 30 rural male children (c2bl), and 30 rural '

. . female children (c2b2) that were randomly selected and assigned to the

different conditions. I n all, there are 30 participants in each conditio'nor . ' . '

level for data analysis. The design is most appropriate because it permits , . ..

thc simultaneous evaluation of 3 expcrimental variabies (maternal

employment, gender differences and locality) that were used in the study,

. . . as well as the evaluation of their combined effects (interaction) of the three * .

experimental variables.

.Table 1: The assignment of the participants in each condition of, 'a

2 x 2 x2 factorial design.

- 'I a

A(MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT) X B(GENDEI3 , . .

Statistics ------

C(L0CALITY)

C1: Urban

C2: Rural

The statistics that is employed is F-statistics of ANALYSIS OF ' .

VARIANCE (ANOVA). This is because it is approgrizte for a 2 x 2

x 2 Factorial Design for equal sampie size. ,

. ..

. . . 1

' . . . :.

, ,

DIFFERENCES)

a, (Children of

Working

Mothers)

cIa1(30)

C2a1 (30)

a2(Children of bl (Male b2 (Female

Nonworking Children) I

Children) . . , Mothers)

c1%(30)

1 .

C I ~ I (30)

c2a2 (30)

C I b2 (30) . 1

c2b2 (30)

Chapter Pour

Results . - - - - -. . . . . .

The children's scorcs in thc mathematics tests ranged from minimum .

. . of 2 to maximum of 10 marks. The scores of the children were used as the . '

dependent variable. The data from children's achievement in the solution , ' .

of the mathematical problems were analyzed in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, , ; , ,

maternal employment (children of working mothers and 'children of.

nonworking mothers) X gender dill'erenccs (male children and female

chi!dren) X locality (urban children and rural children) as the independent . .

: . variables.

As indicated in table 1 below, an analysis of variance of the scorcs . '

, ' , showed that the three factors or independent variables were statistica!l.y.

. . . . significant. As a result of this, the null hypotheses were rejected because " 5 . .

alternative hypotheses that: ' . . . .

. ' (a) t lwe would be a statistically signilicant difference between children ' . .

of working, and those of nonworking mothers was confirmed,

there would be a statistically significant difference between inale and

female children was confirmed, F(1,232) = 1024, P c0.0 1.

28. . . . . . . ,

, . , .

(c) thcrc would. bc a statistically significant dil'fcrcncc bctwcun urban

and rural children was confirmed, too, F(1,232) = 7 167, P <0.001.

' (d) there would be a statistically significant .interaction effect due to .

. . maternal employment, gender differences and locality on children's . . . '

, .

, . . . .

solutions of mathematical problems was confirmed, F(1,232) '=. .;

Table 1: A Summary Table of Analysis of Variance For the T h r - . ;

Variables. ---

.

. *

.

.

I

SOV

A #

B

C

AB

SS

2034

259 1

18133

12984.48

!

DF

1

11

1

I T

AC j 2794 I .23 I

I

I

232

239

13C

Af3C

Error

Total

MS

2034

259 !,

18133

12984.48

29083.88

-29863.36

586.77

6349 1.

-

F

804 **

1024 * *

7167 ***

5 132.2 1

2794 1 .23

29083.88

-29863.36

2.53

1 1043.96

I. 1495.60

-1 1803.70 ** *

ND: ** P<0.01

* * P <0.01

* * * 1'<0.001

*** P<O.OOl

Summarv of Main Findins --

I . There was statistically significant difference between the children of . .

working and those of nonworking mothers in *mathematics .

achievement as measured by their performance in mathematical

. . 4 2. - lnkre was statistically significant difference between mdle and ::..

female children in mathematics achievement as measured by their , ' . .

. . .

performance in mathematical tests.

. - 3. There was statistically significant difference between the children of' , '

, , . .

. : - - urban and those of rural schools in mathematics achievement, as .. , . . .

measured by their performance in the mathematical tests. . .

4. There was a statistically significant interaction effect due to maternal .

employment, gender differences and locality on children's . ' . .

achievement in the solution of the mathematical tests. . . .. .

Chapter Five

Discussio~ - --

From the result of this study, it indicates that there are significant.

effects of maternal employment, gender diflerences and locality on

, . children's achievement in mathematics. The first hypothesis which . .

assumes that there would be no statistically significant interaction effect

due to maternal.employment, gender differences and locality on children's , . .

uchicvcmcnt in solving mathematical problems was not conlirmed.

This indicates that the interaction of maternal employment, gender

. , differences and locality as factors reveal significant effects. A possible . . .

, . - . . interpretation of this finding is that the three factors could, jointly, offer a . . '

grcat impact to childrcn7s achievement in the solution of mathematical

' problems.

. . . . The- second hypothesis which assumad that there would be no " t , .

statistically significant diffirences between children of working, and those , '.,- . .

of nonworking mothers in mathematical achievement as measured by their . ,

performance in mathematical tests was not confirmed. Results indicate that. '

. , , . , , . . ! .the children of working mothers scored significantly higher than the' :. ;

I ' . , . - - . .

children of nonworking mothers in the children's ' solutions of the , .

mathematical problems. This is in line with the findings of Fare1 (1980)

, Cherry and Eaton (1977), Gottlricd and Cbttli-icd (1988), Baydar and

. . Brooks - Gunn ( 199 X ), Stein ( 1973), and Broverman et al ( 1972).

It fails to uphold the findings of ~ t a u ~ h (1 974), Hoffman (1974) and . . . ' - Wallston (1973). .One of the possible reasons why the children of working

.mothers do perform better than the children of nonworking moth& .is

. . because of the attitude, encouragement and level of educatibn the working

mothers exhibit. They make sure that their children develop . proper .. attitude

' to education, and the children are encouraged to .be like their mothers. This

is especially pronounced among girls who will definitely turn to be working

mothcrs.

Another possible reason is that as wosking mothers, they exhibit a . t

high sense of maternal affection and will never allow their children to be I

'below stqndarc! in education.and other areas of human endeavour. Working

mothers take a great joy in seeing their children advancing academically

unlike the children of nonworking mothers whose mothers' attitude'to

education arid employment are very low. As a result of this, they

- * . encourage their children to be anything provided they earn just a living

Ikon1 such an activity. , ,

. .

Another possibility is that the children .of working mothers are

. encouraged to focus attention' on challenging and exciting problems, with .

persistence while thc children of nonworking mothers seem i o address their

' minds to case and non-challenging problems with little or no persistence.

Third hypothesis which claims that there would be no statistically

significant differences between ma!e and female children in mathemat'ical

achievement as measured. by their performance in mathematical tests was .,

also not confirmed. Results indicate that malechildren scored significantly fi

higher than female children in the children's solution of mathematical

'problems. This agrees with the findings of Pillai (197 1); Labor (1 979); -

Onibokun (1979); Fennema (1974); ljeoma (1977) and Obodo (1992). I t , .. ,

fails to uphold the 'findings of Obodo (1987), Sherman and Fennema

( 1974), Fennema and Sherman ( 1977) that male and female children do not

' 'differ significantly in the children's solutions of mathematical. problems.,

The finding also disagrees with the results of Terman and Tyler (1954) and .

. Clark (1959) that females perform better in arithmetic (numerical ability) .

'

tests than mules. The implication of this is that findings on the superiority I '

of both genders on children's achievement in mathematics are inconclusive

and require further investigation. . .

. . a ,

Perhaps, a possible interpretation of good performance of males.over

females could be because of a high sense of ingenuity, induction and ' ,

number series .completion ability exhibited by males most of the time in the "

solution of the mathematical. problems. . .

Furthermore, early childhood experience cultivated by the male I

children can improve their performance in the solution of mathematical ' , ' . I

. . . , .

problems while the tendency for femalc children to attribute achievement in . . . .

mathematics to male aff'airs/domains is one of the possible reasons of poor

, . , ' perfbrmance of the female children in the solution of mathematical . :

. .

. . . . problems, This is in line with the findings of Licht and Dweck (1184) and CI

, .

Dwayer ( 1973). , . . .

. , , Another possible interpretation could be because of the nature of

genes inherited by male children. Stafford (1972) was of the view that

. . male children tend to inherit one of the genes responsible for good - -

inathematical ability and one of the genes coding for good space form (X-

linked roccssivc gcncsj. Morwvor, environment. (nurture) cou!d also heIp

'- . to establish a disparity in performance between males and fema!cs in

children's achievement in mathematics. This has been advocated by some .

. researchers while others were on the line of nature and among the . .

4 '

researchers is stafford (1072).

Results also indicate that the fourth hypothesis which claims theat . . .

there would be no statistically significant differences between the children . ,

. .

. . I

of urban and those of rural schools in mathematical achievement as I

measured by their performance in the mathematical tests was not6 I

confirmed. The results indicate that the children of urban school performed . .

significantly higher than the children of rural school in children's solutions

'. -of the mathematical problems. This is in consonance with the findings of . .

Obioma (1982); Iwuji (1982); and Michelmore ( 1973). It fails to uphold . ' .

. .

the fin&ngs of Obioma and.Ohuche (1981) that locality is not a sig A ificant , ;. . .

: factor in children's mathematics' achievement using a mathematics . '. . , ,

achievement test (MAT).

. . . ~ The performance of urban school children over the rural schoo! '

'

. . . '

'chi'ldren could be interpreted as a result of facilities within the reach of the . .

children. They have enough and sophisticated teaching aids, well equipped '

libraries, dedicated and efficient teachers that inculcate in them the .

necessary skills required in learning mathematics.

I

Another possible reason why the children of urban schoo! performed . . , . .

better than the children orthe rural school is because the school is situated

in towns or cities where the attention of the government is focused. As a

rcsult, of this most ol'thcir problcms arc casily tacklcd by the government

without any further delay.'

They also attend workshop, seminars and excursions which help to I

I

L

, improve their performance in the solution of mathematical problems.

. On the other hand, the children of rural school do not have some of . ' .

' 'those facilities within their reach. Because the school is sitmted in the rural. . ' .

*

area, many a time, the attention of the government is not focused on them.

Even if the'educationa! inspectors go to these schools to identify their , .

+ . problems, i t is only once in a while. 'I'he children of rural schoo! hardly.

attend seminars, workshop and excursions which will help to' expose them.

- to various skills of learning mathematics. . .

In~plications of the Findings --

The findings available suggest that the performance of the children . '..

in the mathematics tests is dependent upon the interaction of maternal . . .,

. . ' . employment, gender and locality. A child whose mother is working could

perfbrm well in mathematics when ' hidher gender and locality are

considered together in relation to his or her mother's status or position as a

Furthermore, male children could perform significantly higher than

. - female children in mathematics when their mothers' occupation a n d their . . , ,

- locality are considered in rclation to thcir gender. Also urban children

C ' could perform better than the rural children in mathematics when their

mother's occupation and gender are considered together, too, in relation to

their locality. The study, therefore, calls for the placement of the

participants under the same conditions before administering the .

mathematics tests to thcm so ,us to determine the possible impacts of the

three factors in the children's solutions of the mathematical problems. ' . . .

The findings go further to suggest that working mothers act ,as. , ,

. incentives to their children to perform significantly higher in mathematics. , .

'. This is lonly possible if the mothers' att.itudes are in consonance with their . . , . .

, . occup&uii aiid !evels of cducaiion. ! , -

It also suggests that male children do perform better than the female . . . . . , , . .

children because most of the activities of men involve figures, challenging. .

. . . and difficult tasks while female children are interested in social and, , . . . . . - - interpersonal relations. They tend to be a h i d of mathematics.

. . Urban school children are said to perform better than the rural school I '

children because of a number of facilities within their disposal in the urban , .

areas. These facilities contributed a lot in improving their performance in

mathematics than the children of rural school who lack most of the facilities, ' .

for learning mathematics. I

1

! The series of arguments generated by some researchers as to the'

consequence of maternal employment, gender differences and locality on . . .

children's achievement in mathematics indicate that further resehrches need .

: ,"to be extended to different areas of mathematics such as Numerical

. ,

' Reasoning Test (NRT), Numerical Ability Test (NAT), and Numerical " 4. .

Aptitude 'Test (NAT) to enable the researchers make eiiective . . ' .

. . generalization. . ,

. 8 a . .

'This further suggests that adequate reliability and validity of the . .

. ' ' .'. impact of maternal employment, gcndcr diffcrences and iocality 'on. ' : . . . . , . . . - - . . ,

. children's achievement in mathematics can be ensured by placing the . . .

participants for thc study under the same conditions.

Lastly, thc mathematics test for collecting data should contain what

. ,

the participants have already learnt as deviation fiom what the participants

. , ' . . have learnt will not have significant effects.

t

' Limitations of the Study

'

The present study has some !imitations. One of such limitations is

, . that the vastness of the area undcr study posed a serious handicap to the . researcher. As a result of this, some schools in Nsukka Zone were selected

for data collection. Other methods for data collection which could have . . * .

!

.. been useful for the study were deliberately omitted in order to meet 'the' .. . . '

. deadline. As Nsukka is fairly vast, the researcher was limited to 'use' a' , .

. stratified random sampling method to get at the participants.

. . Another is that the researcher found it extremely difficult to sepwate

. children of working mothers versus children of nonworking mothers from ' ,

. gender and'locality.

. :

As a result of this, participants who wcrc used for maternal

employment were also used for gender difference? and locality.

Suggestions for Fu~ther Research . . - i .

It appears that it is not only maternal employment, gender ' .

. differences and locality that can influence children's achievement in

'. mathematics. A host of other variables could influence children's ,'

' achieGi;=! In mathematics. Some of thosc variables include agp of the . .

. . mother, socio-economic status, Iwel of education, attitudes and parental . , - .

39

' - ;nflucnces. Further rcscarchcrs wishing to undert~kc studies in any of these , .

. variables, using larger samples, may be interested'in the following:

Impact of maternal age, level of education and iocio-ecbnomic . .

status on children's achievement in mathematics.

Influence of socio-economic status, maternal attitude and gender I

I I

differences on children's achievement in mathematics. I

Role of parental influence, level o f education and maternal age'on '.

children's achievement in mathematics,

Ef'fects of age, maternal attitude to employment and socio-economic

status on children's achievement in mathematics.

Impact of maternal employment, age and socio-economic status o n ,

children's achievement in mathematics.

The results of this study will go a long way in elucidating us more

' ' on the dimensions of maternal employment, gender differences and locality

on childrcn's achievcmcnt in mathcrnatics. . . .

. - Summarv and Conclusions

In summary, following the discussion and result of this study it can . '

be inferred that maternal employmcnt, gender differences and locality had . ' .

significant effects on children's achicvement in solving mathematical

. . . .

problcwk. ' Gaseb on the anaiysis of the scores of the mathematics t&ts, the

. . . children of working mothers scorcd4gnilicantly higher than the children of .

r

nonworking mothers F(1,232) = 804, P < 0.0 1. This indicates that 'the

. 9

status, encouragement, incentives and attitude of the working m0the.r~'. . , . . . . . ,

influence their children to peribrrn well in the mathematics tests. . This . . I

" _ _ . . . . ; 1

. implies, too, that the children of the working mothers aspire to reach the . '

position of their mothers.

'The children of nonworking n~others, on the othcr hand, tend to view , ,

. . . the position of their mothers as unchal!enging and therefbre seem not to . be- . , . . . . , . .

. . motivated most of the time. As a result of this, this group of participants do

not seem to perform well in mathematics as the encouragement, ambition ,

. and incentives are not there. .

From the result of this study, it can be inferred that qncouragement,

status, attitude and maternal affection do help an individual to perform well

' . in any fields of human endeavour, especially in mathematics. The

usefulness of this can be experienced most often in our daily lives. For , ;

example, to accomplish a difficult task or challenging problems depend,. to

: a large extent, on encouragement, position or status, incentives and

affection received by children fi-om their mothers. This is very important in

our daily lives without which children cannot undertake any meaningful

venture.

From the result of this study, it was inferred that male children

scored significantly higher than the female children in children's solution of

the mathematical problems F(1,232) = 1024, P < 0.01. This could be that I 1

' I

males, most of the time, engage in activities where the elements of .

mathematics are involved. This, of course, tends to improve their mental . .

., ' powers. They tend to be idealistic, rational and motivated in mathe,matics' . : . .

. test. CI Cweral researchers sxpported the view that male children perform . M . .

better than female children in mathematics, but some also tend to disagree . . . . . . ,

8 . . ' with the notion of gender differences. In line with this, social stereotypes, .

most of the time, discourage females from undertaking a study in, . .

. . -mathematics. They tend to view mathematics exclusively as male affairs.

, , . - - . . . . . .

The role of gender differences is very influential in our daily lives. This is. . . .

because there are cerrain job or tasks which require the services of males or

females. Males seem to be involved, most of the time, in task which

' demands a great deal of physical strength. This, in no small measure,, , ,

. . . . . .

improves their manhood.

In addition, it can be inferred that the children of urban school did , ' . .

perform better than the children of rural school ~('1,232) = 7 167, P < 0.00 1. . .

. . This is as a result of facilities within the rcach of the urban school children .

. unlikc the rural school childrcn who seem to be unlucky.

Finally, it was inferred from the result and discussion that there was , ,

. - i

n significant interaction among maternal employment, gender differences

and locality on children's achievement in solving mathematical probl~ms

F(lJ32) = -1 1803.70, P < 0.001. !t, however, shows that maternal b

. employment, gender differences and locality, jointly, could influence

children's achievement in solving mathematical problems.

Generally, efforts should be intensified in the society to allow and . .~ .

encourage mothers to engage themselves in the labour force. This is

because the involvement of the mothers in the labour force will induce their

q .

children to aspire to greater hcights in academics, especially i n .

mathematics. Mothers are good at directing and encouraging children .to. . . . .

- perform well in the face of difficulty. In fact, most children will be .

, . motivated to make a success in mathematics or academics when their

mothers are involved in the labour force.

Conclusions ----

Parents and guardians should be advised also not to allow their . . . . . .

, . . children to see mathematics as male affhirs. This should be done by . '

. .

advising their children to tackle mathematics problems promptly and not to

, ' shy away from them. . . . .

. . . . . Consequently, . efforts should be made to provide adequate facilities, . 5. 6

. . . . , , existing in urban schools,' for the rural school children. When these . . '

suggestions are taken into consideration and implemented, the disparity in ., , .

the performancc of children will bc put in check and minimized. . .

. . .

- - Recommendations . . .

Following the implications of the findings, the following. , . '

rccommcndations arc prollkrcd:

1. Working mothers should act as sources of incentives, encouragement,

ambition and reinforcement to their children so that they can perform we!l,in . . ' .

the h c e of difficult and challenging tests, especially in Mathematics tests.

- - 44 . 2. Female children should be advised and encouraged by their parents

not to see Mathematics ris c.xclusivcly n~alc aflirirs. They should scc it as a *

- subject that will help them in determining the size and shape of their body

. . when sewing clothes. : , . 'I

3. The poor perl'ormancc 01' the rural children should be put in check ' ' .

I

when the facilities such as books, devoted and dedicated teachers, libraries,

.laboratories etc existing in the urban areas are extended to rural areas to , ' , .

enhance the teaching and leam'ing of Mathematics:

4. Workshops and seminars should be organized for the rural school . .

teachers in order to expose the111 to different skills of teaching and learning

Mathematics. It is necessary because they are the people who will impart the -

knowledge to the children. This should be done at least twice a term.

5 . Psychologists and Guidance Counsellors should be posted to different

schools to identify and solve thc problems of,the students, especially those #

, who have a fear for learning and solving Mathematics as a school subject. 1

6 . , Literate parents should do a proper home assignment by training, .

.encouraging and advising their children on the values of Mathematics as a , . . . .

. - 45 . school subject. For example, Mathematics is indispensable in the study, of . '

medicine, Engineering, .Phnrmacy, Accountancy and other science-rk!a?ec! . .

courses. I

7. Educational inspectors,. teachers and test developers shouId ensure that 'I

the questions they ask students are based on what the students learned from

their schemc of work and not out of the scheme ofwork.

8. There should be effective. teaching and learning of Mathematics , '

because elements of Mathematics are used in everyday life such as in

calculating monthly wages, examination results, in making budgets, in

sewing clothes, in cooking, in weighing and quantifying objects in our

environment, etc.

9. It is also pertinent that Mathematics should be learnt by the,students , '

. . because it facilitates mental activity and problem-solving ability such as in

thinking processes of an individual, identifLing objects in our environment .

and in crisis management, etc.

10. There should be an extension of research on gender differences . in ..

Mathematics to other subfields of Mathematics such as Numerical Reasoning

Test (NRT), Numerical Ability Test (NAT), and Numerical ~ ~ t i & d e Test ,

. 0

. . 46 (NAT). The extension of research into these areas is necessary becavse it will . . . .

enable potential researchers to determine different dimensions .o f ,

. Mathematics tests in the solution of everyday problems.

Lastly, when the foregoing recommendations proffered are taken ,into . '

consideration and implemented by different educational administrators; or

: supervisors, they will immensely help in teaching and learning ' of

Mathematics in the schools.

References . .

Baydar, N., and Brooks-Gurui, J. (1991). Effects of Maternal employment and child-care arrangements on preschoolers' cognitive a id bel~aviousal outcomes: Evideuce from the children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Developmental I ~ S Y C ~ ~ O ~ O P V , 27, 932- 945.

Bronfenbrknner, U., Alvarez, W.F., and Henderson, C.R. (1984) Working and Watching: Maternal enlploy~nent status and parents' perception of their three-);ear old children, Child ~ e v e l o ~ n e n t , 55, 139-1378.'

Broverman, l.K., Vogel, S.R., Broveman, D.M., Clarkson, F.e. and Rose~~ltrantz, P.S. (1972), Sex-role stereotypes: A cuirent appraisal. Journal of Social Issues., 28(2), 59 - 78.

d

Caplan, P.J., ~acpl lerson, G.M. and Tobin, P. (1986). Do sex-related differences in spatial abilities exist? A illultilevel critique with new data. American Psychologist, $I, 786 - 799.

Cheny, F.F. and Eaton, E.L. (1977). Physical and cognitive development in l --\

children of low-income rnothels working in the cllild's early yeas . Child Development, 48, 158 - 166.

Clark, W. (1959). Boys and Girls and their Ability and Aclievement Differences. Phi Delta Kappan, 41, 73 - 76.

Dwayer, C. (1973). Cliildren's Sex role standard and sex role, identification a,nd their- relationship in achievsmeiit, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, IJniversiiy of Claljfost~k, Perkeky, U,S.A:

Easte~brooks, M.A., m d Goldberg, W.A. (1985). Effects of early maternal employment on toddlers, inothers and fathers: Devc!opnumtal

I

Psychology, 21. 774 .- 753.

Egboluche, C.C. (1991). _Effects of 'locos of control and localitv. on iliathematics performance among igbo-Secondarv School students. J

Uilpublisiied B.Sc i";iesis, U.N.K.

Etaugh, C. (1974). Effects of Maternal e~nployment 011 children: A review of recent research. Menill-palmer quarterly of Behaviour and Develovn~ent, 20(2), 7 1-98.

$. i s , .

Ezeorali, T.N. (1986). A coinparative study of sural and urban eiivironmental effects on scliool children. Unpublished B.Sc Thesis U.N.N.

Farel, A.M. (1 980). Effects of Preferred Maternal Roles, Maternal Employment, and sociodemographic status on school adjustment and competence. Child Developlnent, 2, 1 179 - 1 186.

Fermema, E. (1974). The Study of Mathematics by high school girls and boys: Related variables. America11 Education Research Journal, 14(2), 159 - IG8.

Felmema, E., and Sherman, J. (1977). Sex-related difference in Mathematics achievelnent. Spatial visualization and Affective Factor ~meric'ail Educational Research Journal, 14(1), 5 1 - 71.

4

Gates, A.I. (1961). Sex Differences in Reading Ability. Elementary School Journal, 38, 43 1 - 447.

Gessel, A. (1940). ?'lie First 5-ygars of Life. New. York: Harper. .. 1 1.

Gire, J.T. (1988). The relationship between Mathematics attihides and performance. Nigerian Journal of Basic a d Applied Psychology, 1, 96 - 112.

, . - Gottfried, A.E. and Gottfried, A. W. (eds). (1 988). ~ a t e r n a l ' Employment and Children's Development. New York: Plenum.

Hoffman, L. W . (1 979). . Effects. of Maternal Employmelit on Children. In L. Hoffnlaii and F.I. Nye (Eds). Working Motliers. San Fraticisco: Jossey-Bass. . , - , .

Hoffman, L.W. (1989). Effects of Maternal Employment in the Two-p,~ent Family. American Psycholo~ist, 44,283 - 292.

, I" 1 1 ' . % I . . : ' i t '

Hogrebe, M.C., Nist, S.L. and Newman, 1. (1985). Are there gender differences ill Reading Achievement? An investigation Using High School and Beyond (HSB) data. Journal of Educational Psvchology, 76(6), 7 16 - 724.

Horney, K. (1939). New Ways in Psychoanalysis. ,New York: Norton. .

Ijeoina, C.C. (1977). A Cotnyarative study of the WASC Mathematics Examination in Selected Scl~ools in lmo State: Unpublished B.Sc.

, , Thesis, U.N.N. -\. '.

lwuji, V. (1992). 111 search of applied aptitude tests to be used in Nigerian schools. Education and Development: A. Jounial of the Nigerian Educational Research Council, 0 1 , 390 - 403.

Keniston, K., and keniston, E. (1 964). An American Anaclnonism. The Image of Women and Work. The America Scholar, 33(5), 82 - 101.

Kerlinger, F.N. (1973). Foundations of Behavioural Research. Britain: Holt, Jlinehart and Winston, Inc.

Kimura, D. (1985). Male brain, female brain: The hidden difference. Psycholonv Today, 50 - 58.

Kuckenberg, I<. (1963). Effects of ewlv fatl~er-absence on scholastic aptitude. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Haivard University.

Labor, A.F. (1 979). Empirical evidence of the relative attainment in Mathematics in .single ,sex aid co-educational schools. Afiican Journal and Educational Research, m, 15 1 - 155. , ,

La Brant, L. (1933). A study of certain language development of children I

in grade 4-12 inc;lusive, Genelics: Psvcliolo~ical Monomyh, l4,

Lewis, T.M :?..,..,,.. and Tyler, L.E. (1954). Psychology of sex differences. In Carmichael (~b): '~$lua ' j 'of Child Psvchology, 1054 - 114. New York: Willer.

Licht, B.G and h e c k , C.S. (1984). ~etenninants of academic achievement: The interaction of children's achievement orientations 8

with skill area. Developinental Psvcholot~v, 20, 628 - 636. 1

Martin, D.J. and Hoover, H.D. (1987). Sex differences in educational achieveinent: A longih~linal study. Special issue: Sex difference, in earlyadolescent. ~owndi of Early Adolescence, 70, 65 - 83.

McCarthy, D. (1938). The language developmelit of the Preschool Child. Monograph, 4, 65 - 78.

. Michelinore, M. (1F73). ,, Performance in a modern mathematics curriculum, West ~fi-icani~ounlal of Education, 7J2J 8 1 - 93.

Newcombe, N., and Dubas, J.S. (1972). A longitudinal study of predictors of spatial ability iu adolescent females. Child Development, 63, 37 - 46.

Obioma, G.O. (1982). The development and pr&ninasy validation of a diagnostic ~natheinatics achievenlent test for Nigerian secondary school students. An ~u~published M.Ed Thesis, U.N.N.

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< 1

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. .

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I

Stein, A.1-I. (1 973). The effects of materilal employment and educational attai~un.eilt on the sex-typed attributes of college females. Social Bellaviour and Persondtv, 1, 1 1 1 - 1 14.

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Appendix A

Mathematics Tests I .

. .

Instruction: You are expected to f i l l in the following particulars on the.

.

question paper before beginning to answer questions:

i. Age:

. . 11. Year:

. . ... 111. Gender:

' iv. Your mother's level of Education

. . v. . (i.e. primary, secondary, tertiary, None).

vi. Your mother's occupation:

, Then attempt all the question inside this question paper and write down . . '

your answer in the space provided for it. Please, use biro throughout.

Simplify - %+'A . . .

1% - 115 . .

(a) 214 (b) % (,c) 517 (d) !h

If the angles of a polygon are 2aU, (10+a)O, (35 + a)' and (45 - .I)'. What is thc value of'aO? (a) 5' (b) 25'(c) 30°(d) 1 5'

. . , . Calculate the area of the shaded portion of the figure below.

, . 4. Find x in the diagram below: a

30" . ?\ . . . . ,

. . (A) 25 (U) 30 (C) 0 (Dl 40 . .

. . . . - - . . . . . 5 . I1'3x and 2x are complcmcntary anglcs, thcn x is Ans:

6. . .

(A) 18' (B) 3 6". (C) 72' (D) 144'

In the diagramlfigure above ABICD

i

Calculate the value of SO and to. Ans:

0 o (A) s 0 = 4 1 , t =76"' (B) 9" lo0, t o= 15'

Find the average age of four boys whose ages are 15, 15, 18, and 12, respectively. Ans:

In the figure above, if AB = 3 and AC = 5 <.;;i,..' ,-.. 1 ' . ; 'i ...

. .-... , .. .

Find the value-of BC. Ans:

9. The circumference of a circle is 44 metres < 7

Calculate the area of the circle. Use n = 22/7.

Ans:

(A) 15211-1~ (B) 144m2 (C) 1 54m2 (D) 1 02m2

10. A ladder is leaning against a wall 8m high.

If the'.folot'of the'ladder is Gmetres from the wall,

What is the length of'the ladder? Ans:

(A) 15m (B) 10m (C) 25m (D) 5m.

. . Appendix B - A total of twenty participants were used for the Pilot Study. They

were drawn from two urban and two rural secondary schools in Nsukka

Zone for both male and female children respectively. The urbail schools , , ,

, , . . . . , . , . , .. . . ,

include Nsukka High School and Girls' Secondary School Obukpa while

the rural schools include Boys' High School Aji aiid Girls' Secondary

School, Imilike. 6

In the Pilot Study conducted with the instrument, the participants

showed no difficulties in understanding c r and solving the questions. '-.

Estimation of the Relxab~lity . . .

Statistical analysis of the scores of the instrument ranging from 0 .-

. . . . 10 marks of'thk pa&ipanis yielded a split-half reliability coefficient of

0.97 and Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula was applied for estimating

the reliability of the complete test from the correlation between equivalent

halves (X and Y) of the test. The formula has been generalized to permit

estimating the reliability of a test of any length if the reliability for some

specific length is known (Thorndike and Nagen, 1969). As a result of the , - , .

application of this formula, it yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.98. The t

, , , , . . . .high reliability coefficient goes further to indidate that there is a high

degree of internal consistency among the test items (Winer, 197 1).

Result of the Pilot Study: Computation of Reliability Coefficient According to Kerlin~er ( 1973) and Thorndike and Ha

J

X 7 8 8 8 8 9 6 7 6 4 C X = 7 1

Y 5 7 --- 7 7 7 6 7 6 5 6 CY = 63

XY 35 56 56 56 56 5 4 42 42 30 . 24 CXY = 451

XL 49 64 G4 64 G4 8 1 36 49 36 16 EX' =

523

yL 2 5 49 49 49 49 36 49 36 -- 2 5 36 . Cy2 = 403

r = Spearman - Brown Prophecy Formula =

In the validation of the instrument, the researcher used content ( 1

1. validity. Specialists such as lecturers in the Mathematics Department, ..

Mathematics teachers of J.S.S. 111 classes and what the students have learnt

from the J.S.S. 111 Mathematics scheme of work (Appendix C) were ...

consulted and ticked ( d ) before the instrument was constructed by their

teachers. Of course,,the students did not find it difficult in understanding

and solving the questions. I

Appendix C. J.S.S I11 1998 MATHEMATICS SCHEME OF

WORK.

W eek(s) FIRST TERM ..

1. Number of enumeration, Binary counting system using punch card.

2. .'Translating word problem into symbols. Solution of simple

equations involving brackets, fractions and decimals. i

Inverse proportions - Application to speeds, productivity, . - , . y.--. .' ' . 4 ?. ,, . j . :

consuinptions and reciprocals. , ,

"'. Compound interest - simple treatment only.

Irratioilal numbers e.g 42, etc. Identification of such numbers and .

approximate values of such numbers by using square root method.

Approxiination to significant figures, Decimal places, correction to the

nearest 10, 100, etc.

Historical approach to I1 and its uses to calculate distances, volumes,

and areas. standard form e.g.1.36 x 10".

Estimation of answers in standard form continues.

9. Factorisation of algebkic expressions. Grouping and Difference of

two squares.

a2-b2 = (a+b) (a-b) other types.

10. Simple equations involving fractions and simple types.

11. Revision

12. Examination

Week(s) SECOND TERM

1. . Sirnu1taneo.u~ linear..equations.

2. Graphical treatment of siinultdi~eous linear equations.

3. Solving simultaneous equation by standard methods.

4. Variation - Direct and inverse.

5 . Variation - Partial and Joint.

6. Change of subject or formula.

7. Drawing of views and plans of common solids.

' 8. Similarity; heatment to triangles, rectangles, cubes and cuboids. , I , . : * ; ) i ; ~ ; < . , . : , , , ,, j , , , ~ . ' ; : : : ; : , , : ,, ,

9. Calculation of lengths, ireas, volumes, using scales and similar

figures.

10. The Sine, cosine and tangent of acute angles (Sin, Cos, Tan)

calculation of sides and angles.

1 1. Revision.

12. Examinations.

Week(s) THIRD TERM

a re as of triangles, parallelograms and trapeziums.

Construction of angles, bisection of angles and line segments.

Revision on data presentation - Pictograms, charts, frequency .. distributions.

Revision: Mean as arithmetic average, mode and median.

X=A+ xfd/Ef where X = exact mean.

A = assunled mean.

D = deviation from A.

5. Revision of Probability. < *

7-8Compilations and Results.

Appendix D .

.. ARRANGEMENT OF DATA FOR A THREE-FACTOR EXPERIMENT . . c, :URBAN -

A(Materna~Emplovment)l3(Gender Differences)

.

C l a l : Children of working mothers

1

2

8

8

Claz: Children of Nonworking

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 1

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

mothers 3 1

32

7

6

Clbl: Male Children

6 I

62

63

64

65

66

67 '

6 8

69

7 0

7 1

72

7 3

74

75

76

77

78

Clb2: Female Children

5

4

6

. 6

7

8

7

6

7

5

6

8

9

8

7

6

9

9

9

8

8

10

8

9

10

8

9

7

8

10

9

9

9

8

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

08

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

8 I 33

6

7

8

6

6

7

6

8

7

6

7

5

6

G

7

9

8

6

7

8

9

7

8

9

7

8

6

7

9

10

9

8

7

34

3 5

36

37

38

39

40

4 1

42

4 3

44

45

46

47

48

ARRANGEMENT OFDATA FOR A THREE FACTQRJXPERIMEN'I' . , ' , -- C2: RURAL .- -

&&Maternal Employm.ent) X l3(Gcnder Differences)

. . Cz:aI: Children o f C2a2: Children of Czbz: Male C2b2: Female ' : , , '

Children Children . . , . ' working mothers Nonworking I

mothers 121 7 151 5 181 4 211 1

I

122 7 152 6 182 4 212

123 7 6 183 8 213

Appendix E

COMPUTATION OF RAW DATA OF A THKEE- FACTOR EXPERIMENT

I

SST = (407 x 832 x 1 577j2 - (1 577f 120 I 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 1 2 0

SSA = (745j2 -(1577j2 2x2~30 2 x 2 ~ 2 ~ 1 2 0

SSB = m ) 2 - {1577j2 2x2~30 2 x 2 ~ 2 ~ 120

SSC = ~ 7 ) ~ - U 7 . l . . . 120 ; !i2x2x2x120

SSAB = /74512 x (832)2 - { 1577) - 2034-3178 2 x 3 0 2 x 2 ~ 2 ~ 120

SSAB = 29787.48 - 259 1 - 2034 - 3 178 I

SSAB = 12984.48 (745)' x (1 577) SSAC = '- (1577)~. - SSA-SSC

2 x 30 2 x 2 ~ 2 ~ 120 . .. I . . ; . . : , , 8 I

;

SSAC = 555025 x 2486929 - 2486929 - 2034 - 3 178 GO 960

SSAC = 50699.23-2591-2034-18133

SSAC = 2794 1.23 /832)* x (1 577) SSBC = * - ' 2591 - 3178 - 18133

60

SSBC = 52985.88-2591-3178-18133

SSABC = SST - SSA - SSB - SSC - SSAB - SSAC - SSBC

SSABC = SST - SSA - SSB - SSC - SSAB - SSAC - SSBC

SSABC = 63491 - 2034 - ! 3 178 - 18133 - 12984.48 - 27941 - 1-

29083.88 _ - 1 1

ERROR= A+B+C+AB+AC+BC-ABC-t -Er ro r=Tota l

2034 + 2591 -I- 18133 + 12984.48 + 27941.23 + 2908'3.88 - 29863.36 + Error = 63491

Error = 62904.23 + Error = 6349 1 Error = 63491 - 62904.23 Error = 586.77

Autobiography t

. ,

The author, Mbaeze Charles Ikechukwu, a native of Ovoko-Agu'in . " .

Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, was born on 3oth a

- October, 1968 to. the family of' Mr. Michael Mbaeze and Mrs. Louisa . . ,

, M baeze.

Charles gained an admission into the Department of ~ s ~ c h o l b ~ ~ , ~ n i v e r s i t ~

of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1990 and graduated in 1995. I-Ie had a Bachelor of

Science (B.Sc) degree in Psychology with a Sec.ond Class Honours (Upper , .

Division) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

r~'herealter, lx procccdcd to Daita State for a one year National . '

'

Youth Service. Me finished in 1996 and came back to the Department of ?

Psychology, University of ~ i g e r i a , Nsukka for his Master's degree (M.Sc)

' in Developmental Psychology.

Throughout the academic programme of mine in Psychology, it was , : ,

quite interesting. ina ally, I wish to express my utmost desire to pursue my

Ph.D programme in Developmental Psychology, too.