Mathematics Learning Outcomes of Secondary School Students in Relation to Gender and Social Support

Abstract

Mathematics is a foundational subject that significantly influences student’s academic success and future career opportunities. Students are the important segment of the society and their well-being, learning outcomes and success are the pillars of successful education system. For achieving this, students require a strong foundation and adequate support to effectively navigate and conquer the academic challenges they encounter. Social-support plays a significant role in education and nurturing students learning outcomes. In this context, the Present study an attempt has been made to investigate the Impact of gender and social support on mathematics learning outcomes of secondary school students. To achieve the objective of present study a sample of 460 secondary school students of class 9th selected randomly by using simple random technique (odd-even method) from different government schools situated in five districts of Himachal Pradesh. The requisite data is collected from the selected subjects by using the achievement test constructed and standardized by the researcher herself and Social support scale by Dull and Godhara (2019). For analysis of the data, the statistical technique Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied. The findings of the study revealed that gender and social support significantly affects the mathematics learning outcomes of secondary school students. The present study further contributes to promoting equity in mathematics education and highlights the suggestions for promoting social support as well as interventions that enhance mathematics learning outcomes in high school teachers.