RESEARCH INVENTY: International Journal of Engineering and Science ISSN: 2278-4721, Vol. 1, Issue 9(November 2012), PP 14-18 www.researchinventy.

com

Influence of Arithmetical Ability and Study Habit on the Achievement in Mathematics at Secondary Stage
1,
1,

Dr. Ranjana Choudhury, 2,Dhiraj kumar Das

Rtd. Head of Department of Mathematics.Handique Girls College, Guwahati, Assam, Pin-781001 2, Department of mathematics, J.N.College, Boko, Kamrup, Assam, Pin-781123

Abstract: Arithmetical ability and study habits are some of the factor that influences the student s achievement
in mathematics. The present study aims at studying the influence of areas in relation to the arithmetic ability and study habit on the achievement in mathematics to the pupils at secondary stage. A sample of 500 students of standard IX from secondary school of south kamrup district, Assam, participated in the present study, in which the relationship among the achievement in mathematics was most closely related with arithmetical ability and study habit. Analysis of data indicated that there is a significant difference on achievement in mathematics of the students in case of sex for different sub categories but independent for the sub-categories of medium. The regression equation thus obtained shows that arithmetic ability and study habit contributes 28.44% and 29.66% respectively to the Achievement in mathematics.

Key words: Arithmetic Ability, Study Habit, Achievement in Mathematics, Sex, Medium 1. INTRODUCTION

Mathematics is the oldest of all sciences that have developed through the ages having a direct impact on the quality of human life in our planet. It is known to all of us that arithmetic is the basic branch of mathematics and numerical concept is at the root of each and every mathematical concept. However arithmet ical ability and numerical ability may influence pupils achievement in mathemat ics. Several studies are done to find out how achievements of the pupils are influenced by their mathematical ability and numerical ability. The national policy of education (1986)[1] has also considered the importance of mathematics in general education and suggests that mathematics should be visualized as the vehicle to train a child to think, reason, analyze and to articulate logically. The ability of do something is the quality acquired skill or talent. Study habit always creates talent and skill of problem solving techniques. Study habit is a well planned and deliberate pattern of study which has attained form of consistency on the part of the student towards understanding academic subject and s and passing at examination (Pauk, 1962;Deese, 1959; Akinboye,1974)[ 2,3,4]Rastogi(1983)[5] investigated the influence of command over basic arith metical skill on mathematics achievement. He observed that poor command over basic arith metical skill was to be an important cause of backwardness in mathemat ics. The investigator observed that the relation between Achievement in mathematics and Achievement in arith metic is yet to be explored. Kaur(1985) analy zed abstract concepts in mathematics and isolated the figural angular factor and numerical facility factor as dominant factors in learning mathemat ics and thus achievement in mathematics in case of high school student. Sumangala(1995)[6] has studied 750 students of class IX in Kerala and found that the numerical ability, numerical reasoning , ability to choose symbols, spatial ability and abstract reasoning abilit ies to be significantly correlated to the achievement in mathematics. According to Olayinka (1996) and Yahaya (2003),[7] passing examination to secure certificates either for admission into higher institution or secure good jobs is the main goal of education to many people and not the acquisition of knowledge and skills through studying. Hence the present study entitled Influence of arithmet ical ability and study habit on the achievement in mathematics at secondary stage

2.

Objective of the study:

The present study was taken up with the follo wing objectives: [1]. To find out the relationship between achievement in mathematics and Arithmetical ability and study habit of IX standards students [2]. To study the significant difference of achievement in mathematics, arith met ic ability and study habit of IX standards students when they are classified according to their sex. [3]. To study the significant difference of achievement in mathematics, arithmet ical ab ility and study habit of IX standards students when they are classified according to the mediu m of instruction.

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Influence Of Arithmetical Ability And Study

[4]. To study the significant difference of achievement in mathemat ics with different arith metic ability and study habit group of IX standards students when they are classified according to the sex. [5]. To study the significant difference of achievement in mathemat ics with different arith metic ability and study habit group of IX standards students when they are classified according to the med iu m of instruction. To determine the relative contribution of the arithmet ic ability and study habit to the prediction of achievement in mathemat ics.

[6].

3.

Samples

The normat ive survey method on stratified random technique was used for the present study. For this purpose 250 boys and 250 g irls of standard IX fro m secondary school of south kamrup district were selected at random. 4. Tools Used Following tools were used to collect the data for the study(a) Mathematics achievement test: This has its content based on senior secondary mathematics syllabus and contains mu ltiple choice items and validated with the assistance some senior secondary school teachers (b) Arithmetic ability questionnaire : This was constructed and validated with the assistance some senior secondary school teachers. (c) Study habit Inventory: This was constructed and validated by the investigator.

5.

Data collection

The investigator collected data by visiting the schools. Three tools were used for analysis of data. 6. Data analysis Correlation, t -test and multip le regressions were used to study the variables in the present study. Hypothesis testing H1) There is no significant relationship between arithmetic ability and study habit and achievement in mathematics of IX standards students H2) H3) H4) H5) There is no significant difference on the mean achievement in mathemat ics, arith metic ability and study habit of boys and girls student studying in IX standards. There is no significant difference on the mean achievement in mathemat ics, arith metic ability and study habit of English and Assamese med iu m students studying in IX standards . There is no significant difference on the mean achievement in mathematics with different arith metic ability and study habit group of IX standards students when they are classified according to sex. There is no significant difference on the mean achievement in mathematics with different arith metic ability and study habit group of IX standards students when they are classified according to the mediu m of instruction. Table-1 r-value for Achievement in mathematics and Arithmetical ability , study habi t Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. Vari able Achievement i n Mathematics Arithmetic ability Achievement i n Mathematics Study habit N 500 df 498 r .605 p <0.05

500

498

.618

<0.05

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Influence Of Arithmetical Ability And Study

Table-2 Data and Results of test of significance of Difference between mean scores of Achievement in Mathematics for different Sub Samples Sub Samples Sex Medium Boys Girls English Assamese N 250 250 250 250 Mean 45.67 30.39 39.48 36.58 S.D 26.01 14.45 23.01 21.65 t value 8.12 1.45

Table-3 Data and Results of test of significance of Difference between mean scores of Arithmetical ability for di fferent Sub Samples Sub Samples Boys Sex Girls English Medium Assamese N 250 250 250 250 Mean 16.80 13.25 16.06 13.96 S.D 8.10 6.43 8.22 7.08 2.92 5.09 t value

Table-4 Data and Results of test of significance of Difference between mean scores of Study Habit for different Sub Samples Sub Samples Sex Medium Boys Girls English Assamese N 250 250 250 250 Mean 65.09 58.82 62.78 61.14 S.D 21.56 20.97 20.70 22.24 .855 t value 3.29

Table-5 Significance Differences between the Means of Achievement in mathematics Scores with different sub categories of Ari thmetic ability Sl. No. Sub category N Mean SD SE(Means) 1 High 145 56.35 24.17 2.01 2 Average 216 35.25 16.42 1.12 3 Low 139 23.24 13.94 1.18 Group High/Ave Ave/Low High/ Low t value 9.88 7.12 14.06 D.F. 359 353 282 Significance .000 .000 .000

Table-6 Significance Differences between the Means of Achievement in mathematics Scores with different sub categories of Study Habit Sl. No. 1 2 3 Sub category Regular Moderately Regular Irregular N 142 120 328 Mean 54.08 48.04 23.41 SD 19.61 18.62 15.18 SE(Means) 2.52 1.15 1.79

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Influence Of Arithmetical Ability And Study

Group Reg/Modreg Modreg/Irreg Reg/Irrg t value 8.91 2.74 9.21 D.F. 350 422 222 Significance .000 .006 .000

Significance Differences between the Means of Achievement in mathematics Scores with different sub categories of Study Habit Multi ple Regression Analysis In pursuance of the objective (VI) of the study, i.e. to determine the relative contribution of the arithmet ical ability and study habit to the prediction of achievement in mathemat ics of IX standard students, data were subjected to statistical treatment of mu ltip le regression technique. Table-7 The relati ve contri bution of Arithmetical ability and study habi ts in to the prediction of achievement in mathematics. Vari ables Arith metic ability Study habit Constant Regression Coefficient 1.26 .49 B-Coefficient .47 .48 r value .605 .618 % of contri buti on 28.44 29.66 R2 =58.10

-12.05

[1].

[2].

Fro m table-I it may be observed that the r-value of algebraic ability and study habit on achievement in mathematics are 0.605, 0.618 respectively. All these values are much closed to one. So algebraic ability and study habit to the achievement in mathematics are significantly related. So it may be concluded that the student who has the high arithmetical ability and better study habit imp ly the high achievement in mathematics. Fro m table -2 we observed that with regard to achievement there is significant difference between boys and girls (t=8.12, significant at 0.05 level) but not significant between English mediu m and Assamese med iu m students (t=1.45, not significant at 0.01 level). It is seen that the mean achievement score for boys (M=43) is higher than that of girls (M=33.06). So it may be concluded that the null hypothesis is rejected for ach ievement in mathematics for different sub samples of sex and accepted in case of med iu m. Th is implies that Boys are high on achievement in mathematics when co mpared with girls students. But Achievement in Mathematics is independent for the sub-categories of mediu m. Fro m table-3 we observed that with regard to arithmetical ability there is significant difference between boys and girls (t=5.09, significant at 0.05 level) and between English mediu m and Assamese mediu m students (t=2.92, significant at 0.05 level). So it may be concluded that the null hypothesis is rejected for arith metical ability for different sub samples sex and mediu m. This imp lies that Boys are high on algebraic ability when compared with girls students and assamese med iu m student has high arithmetic ability than English mediu m students. Fro m table-4 we observed that with regard to study habit there is significant difference between boys and girls (t=3.29, significant at 0.05 level) and there is no significant difference between English med iu m and Assamese mediu m students (t=.855, not significant). So it can be inferred that study habit is independent for sub-categories of sex and med iu m. Fro m table -5 we observed that with regard to achievement in mathematics, there is significant difference between sub-categories of arith metical ability between high and Average (t= 9.88), average and low (t=7.12) and high and low (t=14.06). Fro m table -6 we observed that with regard to achievement in mathematics, there is significant difference between sub-categories of study habit between regular and moderately regular (t= 2.54), moderately regular and irregular (t =13.41) and regular and irregular (t =17.05). Fro m table - 7 it is observed thatThe achievement in mathematics by the independent variable arith metic ab ility of IX standard students to the extent of 28.44%.

[3].

[4].

[5].

[6].

[7]. (a)

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Influence Of Arithmetical Ability And Study

(b) The achievement in mathematics by the independent variable study habit of IX standard students to the extent of 29.66%. The regression equation obtained for total sample of 500 to predict achievement in mathemat ics of IX standard students with the help of the prediction variable algebraic ability and study habit is :AIM= 12.05+1.26*ALA+.49*SH Where AIM= Achievement in mathemat ics, ALA= Arith metic ability, SH= study habit

(c)

7.
[1].

Findings of the study

[2].

Findi ngs of coefficient of analysis . Arith met ical ab ility and achievement in mathematics are significantly related. . Study habit and achievement in mathematics are significantly related. Findi ngs of t-test anal ysis . Boys have better achievement in mathematics than girls. . English and Assamese med iu m students are independent for the achievement in mathemat ics. . Boys are high on arith metical ability compared with girls. . High arith metical ability group have the better achievement in mathematics than average and low group of pupils. . Regular study habit group have the better achievement in mathemat ics than irregular and moderately regular group of pupils Findi ngs of Mul ti ple Regression analysis . Arith met ical ab ility as an independent variable depends on the achievement in mathematics of IX standard students to the extent of 28.44% %. . Study habit of mathematics as an independent variable depends on achievement in mathematics of standard students to the extent of 29.66%

[3].

[4].

Conclusion
Fro m the above study we may conclude that the arithmetical ability and study habit influence the achievement in mathematics. Moreover the achievement in the subject mathematics mostly depends on pupils study habit. The teacher needs to improve their relat ionship with the students to encourage good study habits through home assignment. A large number of studies have been done on ability of the students from lower grades to secondary grades in grasping concept of different topics of arithmetic. So it is beyond imag ination for most of the parents and teachers that to improve the arith metical ability to influence pupils achievement in mathematics the students proper study habit necessary.

References:
[1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. [5]. National policy of Education. (1986) Government of India Document. New Delhi, Ministry Of Human Resourse Development Pauk.W(1962)How to study in College.Bostoni AoughtonMifflin Company Deese.J.(1959) Environmental effect on study habits and attainment .Reading Research Quarterly. Vol.1.,No 3., 37-42 Akinboye. J.O (1980) How to study ; A psychological approach Ibadan, Maritime Printers. Rastogi.S (1983)Diagnosis of weakness in Arithmetic as related to the Basic arithmetic skills and their remedial measures Ph.D. Thesis, Gauhati university, 1983. [6]. Sumangala. V. 1995. Some psychological variables discriminating between high and low achievers in mathematics. Experiment s in education, 23 (10 and 11) 165-175 [7]. Yahaya.L.A (2003).Relationship between study habit and attitude of secondary school students towards examination malpractice in kwara state. Abuja Iournal of Education.15 (1), 216-234. [8]. Ghose, B.N.: Scientific Method & Social Research. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. [9]. John, W. Best, Fames. V.Khan: Research in Education Fifth Edition. [10]. Oyedeji,O.A.(1991) : Perseverance, Study habit and self concept as predictors of students performance in secondary school mathematics in Nigeria. [11]. Sherard.W.H.(1981) Why a Geometry a Basic Skill?. Mathematics Teacher. 19 -21. [12]. Sirohi, V.: A study of underachievement in relation to study habits and attitude .

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