Exploring problem-solving skills among junior high school one students in mathematics at Akatsi South District, Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how Junior High School (JHS) 1 students solve word-problems in Mathematics. A total of 112 JHS 1 students were purposively selected from 41 public basic schools in the Akatsi South District of Ghana. Interview guide and test items comprising questions on word-problems in Mathematics on “Fractions”, “Perimeter” and “Area” were used to collect data. Percentages and frequency distribution tables as well as descriptive statistics (mean, mode, median and standard deviations) were used for data analysis. It was found that most of the students were able to read the word-problems in Mathematics but a majority of them could not read the concept names correctly. It was also found that a majority of the students could not solve the word-problems in Mathematics (fractions, perimeter and area) correctly resulting in very low performance. It is recommended that the Institute of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Ghana, should include problem-solving skills in Mathematics as a course in the curriculum of Colleges of Education in the country. The Institute of Education should collaborate with the Ghana Education Service to organize inservice training programmes for teachers to equip them with the skills and strategies needed to enforce the teaching and learning of Mathematics using problem-solving approach.