Teachers' Gender Disparity as Correlates of Students Academic Performance in Mathematics

Abstract

The study investigated disparity in teachers’ gender in relation to students’ academic performance in mathematics. The study was carried out in Oyo State, Nigeria with a sample drawn from 9 Senior Secondary Schools from the 3 Senatorial districts of the State. A population of 270 students (m=116; f=154) and 9 teachers (m=4; f=5) participated in the study. The instruments used were a pro-forma of already conducted mathematics test scores of students retrieved and used for analysis; and, a teacher-centred questionnaire to elicit relevant data on teachers’ gender and qualification. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts and t-Test to test the hypotheses formulated as guide for the study. The findings showed that generally, there was a difference with respect to students’ academic performance, in that female students obtained higher mean gain score in mathematics, though this difference was not statistically significant. Across the board, students taught by male or female teachers performed almost in the same pattern. The implication of this is that, teachers’ gender disparity has no role or does not influence the performance of students in mathematics.