Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Teaching and Learning of Calculus in Secondary Schools: The Case of Three Selected Secondary Schools in Mporokoso District, Zambia

Teaching and learning of calculus are affected by a number of factors which include teachers’ perceptions and attitudes. This study sought to examine teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards teaching of Calculus in selected schools of Mporokoso district Northern Province of Zambia. Analytical and descriptive was the research design employed to establish perceptions and attitudes of mathematics teachers towards teaching calculus. A total of 16 teachers of mathematics participated in the study. A structured interview questionnaire was the instrument of data collection. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The study reveals that, in general teachers have positive attitudes towards the teaching of Calculus, and perceive calculus as an important foundation for other disciplines such as engineering and that it motivates deep thinking. Amongst factors influencing perceptions and attitudes are teacher qualifications and years of service in teaching. Thus, poor learners’ performance in Calculus is attributed to other factors and not teachers’ attitudes since attitude and perception of calculus have been found to be positive.