Effects of the Teacher Development Programme of the Department for International Development (DFID) on Anxiety in Basic Arithmetic Operations among Pupils in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of the in-service-teacher-development-programme on anxiety in basic arithmetic operations among pupils in Katsina state. The study adopted sample cross sectional survey design. This same study's sample size was 700 pupils comprising 358 and 342 male and female pupils respectively, selected from a population of 45,746 pupils in primary five from six Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) in Katsina Education Zone – three LGEAs participated in the program (ITDP), with 361 pupils, while the other three did not (Non-ITDP), with 312 pupils. Data was collected using the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale (AMAS) – an instrument adapted from Ibrahim and Khatoon (2011) consisting of 30 items. The AMAS was validated by experts in Psychology and Math Education. Following a pilot test, the reliability coefficients of AMAS was computed and found to be 0.802. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that pupils from ITDP reported less anxiety than their counterparts from non-ITDP schools. The intervention's impact was gender balanced as male and female pupils were found to have similar anxiety levels within ITDP schools. Based on the study's findings, it was suggested that the state government consider replicating the program in LGEAs where it was not previously implemented. non-ITDP schools in control LGEAs need to start emulating strategies of the programme and professional bodies popularize strategies of the programme through a series of workshops and conferences.