EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF AGE AND SEX ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ALGEBRA ACHIEVEMENT: A MODERATION ANALYSIS

Yarhands Dissou Arthur, Joseph Junior Gurah, Daniel Amoah, William Yaw Awuah

Abstract


A conceptual and meaningful understanding of Algebra is essential for developing other further mathematical concepts required for studies in Geometry, Calculus, Statistics and Probability. Algebra is one of the main mathematical concepts applied mostly in computer science. Since Algebra serves as a link to studying other disciplines in mathematics, understanding the factors that influence students’ achievement is crucial for stakeholders and educators in predicting students’ general performance. Therefore, using 290 undergraduate preservice mathematics students from a Ghanaian university, a research study was conducted to examine the main effect of age and sex together with their interaction consequence on first-year students' Algebra achievement test scores, which were obtained from students’ mid-semester examination in March 2024. A 2×2 NOVA was used as a data analysis technique to examine the impact of sex (male and female) and age on math students' teacher Algebra achievement test. Three primary age groups were formed from the participants: young, middle-aged, and elderly. Age (F (2, 284) = 83.92, p<.05) and sex (F (1,284) = 36.89, p=.001<.05) effects were statistically significant. The age group had a large effect size on Algebra performance, while sex had a medium.  The interaction of age and sex was also significant (F (2, 284) = 13.18, p=.001<.05) with a small (partial η2 = .085) effect size. A detailed exploration of the interaction effect revealed that for students less than 30 years old, there was a significant mean difference in Algebra scores between males and females, in favor of males. On the other hand, for 30 – 40 years, there was an insignificant mean difference in Algebra scores between males and females. For students who are above 40 years old, males' and females' Algebra scores were significant statistically in favor of males. The results further show that males outperformed their female counterparts in all three groups and hence, the researchers recommend a change in instructional practices by teachers to close the sex gap, particularly in the Algebra achievement test and mathematics as a whole.  Implications and suggestions for expanding this current study have been discussed explicitly.

 

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age, Algebra 1, sex, interaction effect, mathematics achievement, preservice mathematics students

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v12i6.5977

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