MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAMME TOWARDS ATITUDE TO WORK AND STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated Mathematics teachers’ in-service training programme towards attitude to work and students’ interest in Mathematics in Akwa Ibom State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and employed multistage sampling techniques to select the 134 Mathematics teachers in the state from the 530 Upper Basic Mathematics teachers in Akwa Ibom State. Two research instruments were used: Mathematics Teachers’ Attitude to Work Questionnaire (MTAWQ) and Students’ Interest in Mathematics Questionnaire (SIMQ). The MTAWQ was used to assess the Mathematics teachers while SIMQ was used by the students to assess their Mathematics teachers. The instruments were content validated and have reliability coefficients of .89 and .90 respectively using the Cronbach- Alpha method. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-sample t-test statistics. The results revealed that the extent of mathematics teachers’ in-service training programme towards their attitude and students’ interest in the subject was high and there were statistically significant positive changes in teachers’ attitude to work and learners’ interest due to the training programme. It was concluded that, the in-service training programme organized for Mathematics teachers in Akwa