Analytical Thinking and Mathematics Performance: Insights from Mezam Division, Cameroon

This study aimed to analyze the impact of students' analytical thinking abilities on their mathematics performance in Mezam Division, Cameroon. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach. The study was carried out using seven functional public secondary schools in Mezam Division for the 2023/2024 academic year, with first cycle students (Forms 1 to 5) constituting the population of the study. With the help of the Krejcie and Morgan Table, a sample of 368 students was drawn from an accessible population 8813 first cycle students. The proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select this sample for the collection of quantitative data. On the other hand, 14 respondents were purposively sampled from all the schools to participate in the semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was collected using a questionnaire while qualitative data was collected using interview prompts. The questionnaire was vetted by three experts and its test-retest reliability index established as .93. The quantitative data collected were analysed using frequency counts, means, one sample t-test and regression analysis aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The qualitative analysis was done using the thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that students in Mezam Division exhibit significantly low analytical thinking abilities. They also revealed that there is a strong positive correlation (.850) between students' analytical thinking abilities and their mathematics academic performance. Furthermore, the regression analysis indicated that approximately 72.3% of the variations in students' mathematics academic performance can be accounted for or predicted by their analytical thinking abilities. Conclusively, the study highlights the essential importance of boosting students' analytical thinking skills to notably enhance their performance in mathematics, emphasizing the need for focused educational strategies. It was recommended that educators and policymakers need to focus on nurturing, developing and fostering students' analytical thinking abilities through targeted interventions and teaching strategies.