Influence of type of school on self-perception of mathematical ability and achievement among girls in secondary school in Harare

Abstract

The study explored the influence of type of school on fourth-year secondary school girls‟ selfperception of ability and achievement in Mathematics. The study sample comprised of 90 girls from one girls-only school and one coeducational school in Harare district, who were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Girls‟ perception of their ability in mathematics was measured using a selfadministered questionnaire with both open- and closed-ended questions Mathematics achievement was assessed using document analysis of the two >schools‟ national examination results over an eleven year period.. The findings indicate that the self-perception of mathematical ability of girls in the single-sex school is higher than those in coeducational school. However, there is no significant difference in the achievement of ordinary level girls in mathematics attending either the single-sex or the co-educational school (x² = 0.4368 p < 0.05).