The content for a non-university-preparatory mathematics program for grades 9, 10, and 11 as perceived by mathematics teachers in the high schools and trade schools of Newfoundland

Cole, Edward Warren (1979) The content for a non-university-preparatory mathematics program for grades 9, 10, and 11 as perceived by mathematics teachers in the high schools and trade schools of Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study was designed primarily to compare the perceptions of the high school teachers of mathematics and the trades school teachers of mathematics in Newfoundland concerning content items for a non-university-preparatory mathematics program for grades 9, 10, and 11. Ninety items were used in the study. They were placed in categories A - Performing operations on given number systems, B - Recognizing properties of these number systems, C - Arithmetic Computation, D - Number Theory, E - Algebra, F - Geometry, G - Trigonometry, H - Measurement, I - Statistics, J - Business and Consumer Mathematics, and K - Logic. These items were randomly placed on two questionnaires which were of identical format. Each contained 45 items. -- High school mathematics teachers greatly outnumber trades school mathematics teachers so each of the latter was asked to complete both questionnaires while each of the former was asked to complete one. Each teacher was asked to rank three given aims for the proposed program in order of perceived importance. Based on these rankings, they were asked to rate each content item on a scale of 1 to 5. These numbers suggested a range of views from recommending that an item definitely should be included in this program to its definite exclusion from the program. The aims of the program, in brief, were to provide a program which would (1) prepare students for everyday living, (2) prepare students to enter the workforce and one-year courses of studies at trades schools, and (3) provide remedial work for students having difficulties with mathematics. In addition, each teacher was given the opportunity to suggest any other aims for the program and to state his views on the need for such a program. -- Based on the given rankings of the proposed aims, the teachers were subgrouped and the perceptions of these subgroups were studied and compared. An index for each content item was tabulated for each group and each subgroup of teachers. In addition, a recommendation relative to the inclusion of each item in the program was determined from these indices. -- It was concluded that, in general, teachers felt that the major aim for such a mathematics program is to prepare students to enter the workforce and trades school immediately after leaving grade 11. High school teachers indicated a concern with teaching non-university-bound students topics from business and consumer related mathematics. Trades school teachers were chiefly concerned with topics from arithmetic computation, but were more concerned than high school teachers with the need to include algebra in the program. -- Neither the high School teachers nor the trades school teachers placed much importance on logic, the recognition of mathematical properties, or statistics. They considered statistics as least in importance. However, both groups wanted the inclusion of performance of operations, arithmetic computation, geometry, measurement, and business and consumer mathematics. The trades school teachers seemed inclined to include more algebra in the program with the aims as given than did the high school teachers. -- Comparisons of the opinions of subgroups of the high school and the trades school teachers were made. These subgroups were identified by the ways these teachers ranked the aims of the program according to their perceived orders of importance. There were three such groups. The analysis showed many similarities in the views of these groups as compared with the whole groups of high school and trades school teachers. Many teachers, in the statements of their personal opinions, indicated that there was at definite need in Newfoundland high schools for a program which was designed along the ideas presented by the aims of the program in this study.

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