A STUDY ON PROBLEMS FACED BY THE STUDENTS ON

LEARNING MATHEMATICS IN HIGHER SECONDARY

SCHOOL

Abstract
The rapid changes of the education system and delivery
method give a huge impact to students. This situation
requires students to learn effectively and in a more self-
directed manner (Winters, Greene & Costich, 2008). To
achieve this, students need to be trained on how to enhance
their skills to choose the most appropriate learning strategy
(Azevedo & Cornley, 2004). If not done right, it will affect the
students’ motivation to learn and eventually might lose their
interest to learn the said subject. Motivating students to be
receptive is also an important aspects of mathematics
instruction. Thus, motivation is essential for an individual to
successfully face challenges in academic settings. Behaviors
that are related to academic motivation such as the desire to
do difficult tasks and stay longer in difficult situations will be
the determinant for students’ ability in facing daily school life
challenges.
The present aims to bring out the real problems in
mathematics faced by the students of Higher Secondary
School in Lunglei city so that the students’ problems could
be tackled in a systematic manner that would benefit the
teacher, students and parents all together. This study shows
logical explanation on identifying the real problems and
challenges of the students in learning mathematics and how
teachers and parents have a great impact on a child
learning.
 Keywords: Mathematics Problem, Secondary School,
Students, Teachers, Lunglei

INTRODUCTION

Mathematics is the science that deals with the logic of

shape, quantity and arrangement. Mathematics, in its pure
and applied forms, is the exact opposite of lifeless. However,
it is still considered as one of the most difficult core subjects
by most of the students in Higher Secondary School.

This negative thinking can be due to many factors that

hinder mathematics learning. It is difficult to find out where
the problem really lies as the students and the teachers
blame each other’s. Besides being perceived as a tough
subject, problems in mathematics learning has also been
related to the lack of regulation skills among students in
learning math. To get a better picture of the hindering
elements in students’ learning, this study was therefore
conducted to explore the challenges, obstacles and
difficulties experienced by the students in the process of
mathematics learning.
The teaching and learning of mathematics, like any other
subject, requires both the teacher and learner to
communicate effectively. Mathematics has always been
given special attention in school as the nature of the subject
is related to many other fields and disciplines. Moreover,
students’ mathematics achievement has often been the
focus and is seen as a critical global issue in many countries.
Self-regulation in learning is related to the 21 st century of
learning competency (Wolters, 2010) thus students who are
not regulated will face difficulty to overcome the obstructions
or challenges they face while learning.
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Many students have a fear in the subject Mathematics.
They are unable to understand the basic concept of
Mathematics and their technique due to various reasons. The
problems that occur in the process of learning Mathematics
are relatively less in case of other subjects. Hence, for many
students Mathematics become a very tough subject and
consequently try to avoid the subject. To prevent it from
becoming boring and to make it interesting a teacher
teaches various subjects. Although this problem is not unique
to mathematics, it is widespread due to its lecture-style
method of teaching. It is seen that most of the mathematics
teachers are not aware of alternate simple methods of
teaching Mathematics and different skills of solving the same
problems.
Due to its overly reliant on testing and on class quizzes
as a way of measuring progress Mathematics soon becomes
associated with testing which leads to the students feeling a
lack of motivation in the subject and eventually enjoys it
less. If a student feels a lack of motivation in the subject, he
will not study for the test and quickly will come to regard
himself as poor at mathematics. This becomes a vicious
circle, with the student becoming alienated. Hence, there is a
need to study in detail the problems faced by the students in
learning Mathematics.
 Students face different types of problem while learning
mathematics. Memory problems are a common source of
frustration by students who do poorly in mathematics, due to
its requirement of a great deal of memorization regarding
logical steps, sequences, and number orders, those with bad
memories often find themselves at a loss when it comes to
completing even the simplest mathematical functions.
Solving complex mathematical problems requires prolonged,
sustained concentration, and the ability to focus for long
periods of time will inevitably prove detrimental. Anxiety
related to the particular task itself is also a common problem
encountered by students in mathematics. Due to poor
performance in the past or excessive pressure put on
students to perform well students often develop phobias, or
unexplained fears while learning mathematics.
The first and foremost important thing in solving the
student’s mathematical problem is the role of a teacher.
Learning the students’ needs and problems at the root and
trying to help them understand mathematical problems
using simple language, models, examples etc. Devoting
more time for his students as more students are likely to
have more problems in mathematics compared to other
subjects is one of the important role of a good teacher.
Besides taking normal classes, he should also spend valuable
time with his subjects in solving their mathematical
problems. Developing a good relation and interaction with
his students will also help towards solving students problems
in mathematics.
 Parents should also be responsible and helpful to their
children’s education especially in mathematics subject. They
should devote more time, spend more money if necessary
and teach them at home if they are capable as the role of
parents towards the student’s mathematics problems cannot
be neglected and all the blame cannot fall to the teacher.
For many years, the science students of higher
secondary school in Lunglei had a bad results with many
failing Mathematics every year. This leads to many students
refusing to take Science subject for their further studies.
Even if some who opt for Science subject prefer to drop
Mathematics and choose some alternative option. Therefore,
the investigator believes that it is crucial to know the reason
behind this dilemma and find out the exact problems why
most students struggle with Mathematics. Hence, the
present study is taken up.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
The present study is entitled as “Problems faced by the
students on learning Mathematics in Higher Secondary School.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE TERMS: Operational

definitions for the present study is given below –
Mathematics problem: In the present study, problem
can be from the students, teachers and parents. Student’s
problem includes lack of interest, feeling sleepy and bored,
lack of focus, forgetfulness, carelessness, laziness and poor
time management. Student’s problem from the teachers
includes scolding students, irregular and boring teacher,
language barrier, teaching too fast and bad explanation of
the subject. Student’s problem from the parents includes
lack of financial support, high expectation, tends to compare
their child to others and given less study time.
1) Secondary school: The secondary include class XI – class
XII students.
2) Students: In the present study, students refer to

students studying class XI and XII at higher secondary

school.
3) Teacher: The teacher who teaches Mathematics full
time or part time at higher level after completing the
master degree with training.
4) Lunglei: Lunglei is a town, situated in the southern-central
part of Mizoram.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The objectives of the study are

given below:-
1. To identify the main problem of the students learning

mathematics subject in Higher Secondary School in

Lunglei.
2. To understand which characters of the students hinders the
learning of Mathematics the most.
3. To compare those challenges that the students faced

which hinders the learning of Mathematics in the

students based on their gender.
4. To explore parental participation and support towards

the students in learning of mathematics subject in

Higher Secondary School in Lunglei.
5. To compare parental participation and support towards

the students in learning of mathematics subject in Higher

Secondary School in Lunglei in relation to their
educational level.
 6. To investigate the influence of a teacher on a students in
learning Mathematics.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY :-

1) There exists different self-regulation factors that hinders

the learning of Mathematics among the students in

Higher Secondary school in Lunglei in relation to their
gender.
2) There exists significant difference on parental support

and expectations towards the students learning

Mathematics in Higher Secondary School in Lunglei in
relation to their educational level.
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY:
Due to time limitation and the ongoing pandemic, the
present study is confined to two(2) higher secondary schools
in Lunglei city only.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Singh and Srivastava (1983): investigated the impact

of parents’ literacy on the academic achievement on a
sample of 85 first grade and 80 fifth grade students of
Punjab in India. Students” scores on an achievement test
were taken as measures of academic achievement of the
students. The findings indicated that parent’s literacy had a
positive relationship with the younger students’ academic
achievement.

Dickson, Brown and Gibson (1984) assert that many

specialized terms have an essential and rightful place in
mathematics and it is necessary that they are incorporated
into the learning of the subject.
Tui, (1987), Yee, (1987): Study report the psychological
aspect of female students with special reference to
mathematics subject has been matter of investigation in the
past reporting that high mathematics anxiety is associated
with low mathematics achievement. Teacher’s quality
supported by training and experience plays important role in
success of education.
Cherian (1992): investigated the relationship between
parental education and academic achievement of 369 boys
and 652 girls whose ages range from 13 to 17 years of
Transkei in South Africa. The marks obtained by the pupils in
the class were aggregated as the criterion measure of
academic achievement of the students. Findings revealed
significant effect of parental education on academic
achievement of their children.
Desai (1999): Study reveals teachers short comings and
identified as the major problem in effecting teaching and
learning.
Robertson (2000): Study reports how students’
performance in mathematics subject has been investigated
through bilateral surveys in two European Countries.
Attwood, (2001); Brodie, (2004); Maree, (1997);
Moyana, (1996); Murray, (1997); Malcolm et al., (2000) :
have suggested that achievement in mathematics in
secondary schools is influenced by a number of variables.
These variables include learners’ abilities, attitudes and
perceptions, family and socio- economic status, parent and
peer influences, school related variables such as poor
learning environment, learning cultures, past racial
discrimination and low expectations by principals and
teachers.
According to Singh et al. (2002) many of variables that
hinders learning of Mathematics are home and family-related
and thus are difficult to change and beyond control of
educators. Such factors alone cannot account for the lack of
mathematics achievement and persistent differences among
traditionally disadvantaged learners. In particular these
explanations fail to account for intra-group achievement
differences and the success of some South African
disadvantaged learners in spite of these background factors.
Some well-achieving disadvantaged learners come from the
same communities and share similar socio - economic
backgrounds, schools and classrooms.

Niss (2003): A mathematical competency is defined as

“a clearly recognizable and distinct, major constituent of
mathematical competence”. Thus, a mathematical
competency is a component of mathematical competence, a
specific skills such as problem solving or reasoning.
Karande and Kulkarni, (2005): Studies reveals that
how poor school performance not only result in the child
having a low self-esteem, but also causes significant stress
to the parents.
Agarwal (2005), Anon (2005): Study reveals the
important of curriculum reform through changes in
evaluation process in effective teaching learning process is
evidenced by such study. Thus, improving mathematics and
science education has been the priority of the policymaking
agenda.
Tella (2007): investigated the impact of motivation on
academic achievement in Mathematics. The participants of
the study were 450 secondary school students of both sexes
drawn from ten schools of Ibadan. Data were collected by
employing achievement test in mathematics as a measure of
academic achievement. The results revealed significant
differences in the academic achievement of male and female
students. Male students were found to have better
achievement in mathematics.
Sarsani and Ravi (2010): investigated achievement in
mathematics of secondary school students in relation to
selected variables. The sample of the study consisted of 480
boys and girls, drawn from the various private and
government high school high school of Warangal city in
Andhra Pradesh. Data was collected by administering
scholastic achievement test of mathematics to the sample.
The findings indicated significant differences between the
mathematics scholastic achievement of the boys and girls.
The results also showed the girls were higher achievers than
boys.
Sharma and Tahari (2011) investigated the influence
of parental education, parental occupation and family size on
science achievement of the secondary school students in
western Uttar Pradesh in India. 1500 students were selected
as a sample for the study and data was collected through a
questionnaire that assessed personal information and
science achievement test developed by the researchers
themselves. The results indicated that family variables
including parental education had significant relationship with
the achievement of their children. Hence, it could be
concluded that the gender and geographical area in which
the student live and are exposed may influence academic
success of the students at all levels of education. Gender,
locale and parental education have direct influence on the
academic achievement of the students.
Tata (2013): made his study in Nigeria and came out
with findings that, students’ negative attitude towards
mathematics, fear of mathematics, inadequate qualified
teachers and inadequate teaching materials were some of
the causes of poor performances in mathematics.
Developing positive attitude, motivation and proper
guidance towards mathematics and provision of relevant
teaching materials could make students perform better in
mathematics.

Sa’ad TU, Adamu A and Sadiq AM (2014): claimed

that both education and human life do not effectively
function without the knowledge of mathematics. Most of the
mathematics teacher do not even make the teaching of
mathematics practical and exciting. They are not competent
enough to teach mathematics dynamically, which leads to
negative attitude among pupils implying improper guidance
by the teachers as well.
 Sharma B, Lauano FJ, Narayan S, Anjeg A, Kumar B
and Raj J (2018): The shortage of teachers in STEM
disciplines is attributed to poor achievement in mathematics
at senior secondary grades since very few students are able
to qualify for such courses. Most of these elite students who
qualify and graduate prefer joining the private sector rather
than teaching, contemplating better pay scale, and faster
promotion chances, the trend shared by other countries in
the South Pacific region.

Naiker M, Sharma B, Wakeling L, Johnson JB, Mani

J, Kumar B, et al (2020): Despite the highly decorated and
recognized importance of mathematics and the fact that it is
the prerequisite for most of the subject, poor achievement
and lack of interest in mathematics among students remains
as an issue of concerns in schools, colleges and universities
in developed and developing countries alike.
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
Method of Study: Descriptive method of research was
adopted in the present study.
Population of the study: The population includes all the
Science students making Mathematics as a core subject in
higher secondary schools in Lunglei.
Sample of the study: The sample consisted of two

Higher Secondary Schools in Lunglei – Government Higher

Secondary School and Baptist Higher Secondary School,

Serkawn which had around 200 students taking Mathematics

subject. Stratified random sampling method was employed.

100 students were taken from each of the schools.

Tools and techniques used for data collection: Close-

ended Questionnaire were used for data collection.

Procedures of data collection: The investigator took

permission from the Principal of both Higher Secondary
Schools. The data was collected under the peaceful classroom
situation. Questionnaires were explained before distribution
among the students and the same was collected after the
students responded so that it would be analyzed accordingly.
Procedures of data analysis: The investigator used
appropriate Statistical techniques for present study. The data
collected for the study was examined carefully. Data collected
was tabulated taking overall frequency and according to gender
too. Figures and tables were drawn for better understanding.
MAJOR FINDINGS:

The major findings of the present study in relation to the

objectives of the study are as given as follows :

In relation to objective No. 1: to identify the main problem

of the students learning mathematics subject in Higher
Secondary School in Lunglei .
It is found out that majority of the students are just
lazy to do math exercises/task. Students do not revise their
lessons regularly which leads to having problems in learning
mathematics.
There are many students who perceived mathematics
as too difficult even before attempting first. This means that
many students even before they started studying, they
already made up their mind about the subject and this made
them eager to concentrate and lose their interest in the
subject at an early stage.
The students also have difficulty in the nature of
mathematics as majority of them finds too many formulas and
topics to cover hinder their learning mathematics

In relation to objective No.2: To understand which

characters of the students hinders the learning of
Mathematics the most.
In the present study, the students finds difficulty in
doing mathematics without the help of others. There cannot
be friends or teacher to help them all the time so majority of
the students has problems in learning mathematics.
It has also been found that students have assessment
pressure especially during year end examination.
In relation to Objective No.3: To compare those challenges
that the students faced which hinders the learning of
Mathematics in the students based on their gender.
The present study shows that the problems and
challenges faced by both the gender are almost the same in
most of the theme.
The problems face by both the gender that has more
or less same frequencies are lazy to do math
revision/exercise/task, perceived math as too difficult, always
careless while doing math exercise, assessment pressure,
difficulty in doing math exercise without help from others.
Both the gender have problems with teachers being too
serious while teaching and show no sense of humour,
teaching too fast and not explaining difficult questions.

the present study also shows similar frequencies on the

problems faced by the students on pressure from
parents/family showing that both gender have parents/family
not good in mathematics, not a good listener but still have
high expectation.
It has been found that more problems occurs in
female students being more sleepy while learning Math,
more problems with irregular teachers than the male
students.
A huge difference occurs between the gender on
pressure from parents/family where the female feel more
forced to do math exercise than the male. A problem also occur
more on the male students not receiving financial support to
buy reference books than the female students.
In relation to objective No.4: To explore parental
participation and support towards the students in learning of
mathematics subject in Higher Secondary School in Lunglei.
In the present study, the respondents have many
problems in learning mathematics from their parents/family
as many parents/family were not good in math to help teach
their children at home but still have high expectation. Many
students may feel stress because of these high expectation
from their parents/family.
The parents/family were also claimed that they were a
bad listener and does not listen to their child’ problems. As
mathematics needs a lot of hours to study, students have
problems in learning math as their parents/family do not give
them enough time to study.
In relation to objective No.5: To compare parental
participation and support towards the students in learning of
mathematics subject in Higher Secondary School in Lunglei
in relation to their educational level.
The students in higher secondary school needs extra
knowledge in every subjects as this stage is an important
ladder for their future. Our present studies show many
parents/family do not give their children financial support to
buy reference book.
It was found that many students were not given
enough time to study mathematics which can hinder their
learning to a great extend as topic in mathematics in higher
secondary school is very vast.
In relation to objective No.6: To investigate the influence of
a teacher on a students in learning Mathematics.
In the present study, teachers were found to be too
serious while teaching and very fierce showing even a
mathematics teacher need to crack jokes and be funny for
the students to be interested in the said subject.
In the present study, it has been found that teachers do
not explain clearly the difficult questions which hampers the
students in their learning. So the teachers needs to take
more time and repeat their explaination especially on
difficult questions.
DISCUSSION
Studying and learning mathematics help a child to learn
and think creatively and critically. Science, technology and
engineering are very much a necessity in this modern world
which cannot thrive without having a solid mathematics
foundation. Students with continuously low performance
in mathematics may eventually lose their interest and refuse
to learn further (Schraw et al. 2001). This is a severe
problem. Negative attitude towards mathematics seems to
be a source of challenges in learning mathematics. When
students have such attitude towards mathematics, they will
start perceiving mathematics as a very hard subject and
very confusing to learn, they will quickly lose their interest
and motivation to learn this subject. This finding is aligned
with the study conducted by Gomez-Chacon (2000) which
found that the emergence of negative attitudes and
behaviors towards mathematics are the factors that
contribute to the failure in mathematics.
In the aspects of teacher, teachers behaviors, practices
and characteristics can be the main factors that obstruct the
learning of mathematics and lose their motivation to study
the subject. Teacher competencies relate to the quality of
mathematics learning and students achievement. Many
students feel scared and are unwilling to learn when the
teacher is too fierce and have an unpleasant characteristics.
As a result, many students are afraid to ask questions and
have problems in learning mathematics. While Blomeke and
Delaney(2012) states that teachers competency consist of
cognitive abilities, professional knowledge and affective
motivational characteristics: professional beliefs ,motivation
and self-regulation. Additionally, low self-regulation skills in
dealing with the challenges mentioned by the students faced
difficulties in regulating their learning (Perry, Phillips &
Dowler, 2004; Winne, 2005).
The learning of mathematics is also greatly influenced by
parents and family as indicated by the findings of this study.
Families often encounter problem-solving situations that
require the instantiation of considerable mathematical
knowledge and practice (Goldman & Booker, 2009).
Research on mathematics in the home consistently shows
that families often draw on distinctive funds of knowledge
that include an array of information, skills, and strategies
that can be qualitatively different to, but equally effective as,
the mathematical knowledge that children are taught in
school ( Baker, Street & Tomlin, 2003; Gonzalez, Moll &
Amanti, 2005). There is no doubt that parents or teachers set
certain expectations on students’ mathematics achievement
to motivate their children to learn mathematics. But the
finding of this study indicated high expectation by the
parents and family create problems in learning mathematics.
It should also be noticed that too high expectations will lead
to fear and avoidance from mathematics which indicated
that the expectation contributes to negative self-esteem of
students ( Arem, 2003).
Assessment in mathematics can also make the goals for
learning real to students and indicate to students what to
learn. Today a wide range of different assessment formats
and purposes exists. Throughout the world, various forms of
assessment are employed to elicit information that can be
used to inform decisions about mathematics education at the
individual, institutional, and national levels. Many scholars
have claimed that assessment should be used primarily to
improve learning (Black and William 2012: Hattie and
Timperley 2007; niss 1993 : van den Heuvel- Panhuizen and
Becker 2003). But assessment pressure in mathematics have
created problems in students learning as found in the
present study. Moreover, lack of skills in understanding
mathematical symbols, formulas, concepts and
representations are also the problems experienced by
students in mastering mathematics subject. This situation
consequently leads students to experience anxiety (Ho&
Hyun, 2011). Negative feelings and stressful situations can
also interfere to different degrees with success in
mathematical tasks (Ashcraft and Kirk,2001; Maloney and
Beilock, 2012; Vukovic et al., 2013).

CONCLUSION
Based on the findings gathered from the study, the
following conclusion can be made that laziness and pressure
are the main problems faced by the students in learning
mathematics in higher secondary school in Lunglei. Teachers
and parents/family needs to encourage and motivate the
students to work harder. Pressure can come from teacher,
school or parents/family members who have high
expectations for students to excel in mathematics.
Additionally, examination pressure can also contribute to
students’ losing their interest in studying mathematics.
Therefore, all members including the student’s needs to
have a good combination and mechanism to control and
minimize the pressure.
Parents and teachers should not put too much emphasis
on getting excellent results in examination such that it
makes the students experiencing worry and fear. However, it
should be done to some extend by using the fear appeal
elements in a better way. The use of fear appeal elements on
student evaluation is believed can motivate the students to
learn harder especially for less hardworking students. This
can be done when teachers or parents executing it together
with the explanation on the significance of evaluation for the
students’ future education and career prospect (Putwain &
Roberts, 2009).
In addition, the teachers can conduct essay and fun
quiz with prizes which can boost students’ motivation to
study mathematics. Teachers need to make sure that their
students see the value of each mathematical task or activity
assigned to them.

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