Influence of Teacher Characteristics on Pre-Tertiary Female Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Mathematics

Teacher characteristics have been a primary dependent variable in pedagogical research. Nonetheless, its effect on students' attitudinal and perceptual predispositions towards the learning of mathematics is rarely explored especially from the female’s perspective at the high school level. This study investigated the influence of teachers’ characteristics on female students’ attitudes and perceptions towards mathematics. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. A descriptive research design was employed. A multi-stage sampling approach was used to sample 380 female students in some selected Senior High Schools (SHS) in Ghana. In view of the ethical clearance granted by the University, the validity and reliability of the instruments used for data analysis were strictly observed in the conduct of the study. In particular, Multiple regression analysis and Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed negative attitudes and perceptions of female students towards the learning of mathematics. Further, the study showed that teacher characteristics significantly influenced female students’ negative dispositions towards mathematics. Nonetheless, a moderate correlation between female students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the learning of Mathematics was found. The study recommends that mathematics teachers employ differentiated pedagogy in the classroom context to motivate students to develop interest in the learning of mathematics especially, females at the SHS