Interest towards Learning and Mathematics Achievement among Students in Selected Junior Secondary Schools, Niger State, Nigeria?

This study assessed interest towards learning and mathematics achievement among students in selected Junior Secondary School, Niger State, Nigeria. Correlation Survey design was adopted for the study. The target population for this study consists of 5,368 (2,705 male and 2,663 female) JSS 1 students in 2012/2013 academic session from 92 public and private Junior Secondary Schools in Zone ‟B‟ of Niger State. The sample of this study consist 361 (219 public school students and 179 private school students) and multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was employedin the selection. Two instruments were developed for the study which consists of an Inventory on Students‟ Interest in Mathematics (ISIM) and a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). Descriptive statistic (mean and Standard Deviation), biseria correlation and its associated simple regression of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method were used to establish relationship between the variables and to test null hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance. The instruments were validated and the reliability coefficient was established using the test-retest method. The data obtained were analyzed using mean with the criterion mean set at 2.5.The findings of the study revealed that students in private schools excel in Mathematics more than students in public schools but students in public schools are more interested in Mathematics than their counterpart in private schools. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended amongst others that students should develop positive attitude towards the learning of Mathematics. This can be done through adopting good strategy and study habit.