Influence of family conflicts on pupils’ attitudes towards mathematics and on their interpersonal relationship in public primary schools in Bamenda II Subdivision – Cameroon

The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of family conflicts on pupils’ interpersonal relationship and their attitude towards mathematics in public primary schools in Bamenda II Subdivision. The study adopted a survey research design. A sample of 325 class 5 and 6 pupils was drawn form an accessible population of 2326 pupils using the purposive sampling technique. A questionnaire which was validated and its reliability assured using Crombach alpha, was used in collecting relevant data. Means were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that family conflicts have a significantly negative influence on the attitude of pupils towards mathematics in Bamenda II Subdivision. The findings also indicate that for pupils experiencing family conflicts in their homes, the negative influence of family conflicts on the attitudes of male pupils towards mathematics does not significantly differ from that on female pupils. Lastly, the study also showed that family conflicts have a significantly negative influence on interpersonal relationships between pupils and their peers in Bamenda II Subdivision. It was therefore recommended among other things that class teachers should always try to identify any pupils coming from homes with family conflicts. If the class teacher is unable to help such pupils, then they should be referred to the school counsellor