Mathematics for Vocational High School Students
Journal Name:
- Amasya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi
Keywords (Original Language):
| Author Name | University of Author |
|---|---|
Abstract (2. Language):
Problem Statement: It’s very important to reveal vocational high school students' views towards mathematics
and their underlying causes in improving the quality of education and training. In this respect, responses are
sought for theresearch sub-problems indicated below.
· What are the students’reasons for choosing vocational high schools?
· What does mathematics mean for students?
· What are thereasons for success or failure in this lesson for students?
· Does students’ academic achievement in mathematics have an impact on their preferences in school
choice?
Purpose of the Study: The aim of this study is to determine the reasons for students’ preferring vocational high
schools, to examine whether there is any relationship between the students’ academic achievement in
mathematics and students’ school choice, to question what it means for the students attending vocational high
school and what are thereasons for students’ success or failure in mathematics.
Method(s): Case study is used in this study. The sample consists of 45 students in a multi-program high school
in Izmir. In this study, data was collected by using an interview form consisting of five open-ended questions. In
the process of data analysis, the responses to the questions were coded into the categories and content analysis
was carried out for the determination of these categories.
Findings and Discussions: The findings of the study show that the majority of students in vocational high
schools preferred their schools because of their interests (75,6 %) and then the employment opportunities
provided by these schools (44,4 %). This result is similar to the results of Bilge’s (2007) study. In this study the
majority of students(46,7 %) gave the answers as “I do not understand”, “I can not”, “I have anxieties and fears”
for the question of “what does mathematics mean for you?” Then, the most given answers are similar to “I do not
like, I find unnecessary”. According to these findings, it can be said that the majority of students’ anxiety and
negative attitudes towards mathematics are owing to the fact that they didn’t understand the lesson. Most of the
students said that they failed in mathematics because of not studying hard, for the question of why they failed in
this lesson. Lastly, according to the students, the reasons for failure in this lesson are teaching methods and lack
of weekly hour of mathematics lesson. For the last question of “Does mathematics affect your future?”, most of
the students said that mathematics was necessary for only exams in their lives. Only a small part of students see
mathematics as an essential tool in their lives.
Conclusions and Recommendations: The results of the study according to the sub-problems are in the
following.
1. Most of the vocational high school students choose their schools in line with their own wishes, and
then because of the opportunities provided by these schools.
*
Corresponding Author:Phone: +90 505 653 4116, E-mail: hayalyavuz@msn.com
**This paper was presented in 11. Mathematics Symposium (19-21 September 2012, SAMSUN).
ISSN: 2146-7811, ©2012
AmasyaEducation Journal, 1(2), 180-195, 2012
195
2. 35,6 % of the students in the sample do not like mathematics, have anxieties and fears for
mathematics, and find mathematics boring because they do not understand the lesson.
3. The students said that they failed in mathematics because of not studying hard and weak prior
knowledge.
4. Academic success of students in mathematics does not greatlyaffect their schoolchoices. Nearly one-third of the sample (35,6 %) consists of students who should have wanted to go to the different type of schools if
they were more successful in mathematics.
According to these results, it’s necessary to make mathematics more meaningful for vocational high
school students, to integrate mathematics into their lives and to teach that mathematics was not necessary for
only the exams in their lives. The students said that they couldn’t understand mathematics; they had anxieties
and fears so they failed in mathematics. To overcome these problems, students need to have the feeling of
success. According to the results of the study, the rate of students who prefer vocational high schools because of
failing in mathematics does not seem to be underestimated. To overcome this problem, continuous and planned
activities of vocational guidance must be done for students.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Gençlerimizin meslek liselerini tercih etmelerindeki nedenleri ortaya koymak, bu tercih ile onların
matematik dersine yönelik akademik başarıları arasında herhangi bir ilişki olup olmadıını incelemek ve meslek
liselerine devam edenöğrenciler için matematiğin ne anlama geldiğini, bu dersteki başarı veya başarısızlık
nedenlerini sorgulamak bu çalışmanın amacını ifade etmektedir. Bu amaçla İzmir ilinde yer alan bir çok
programlı lisenin meslek lisesikısmına devam eden farklı seviyelerdeki 45 kişilik bir örneklem grubuna,
araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan ve 5 açık uçlu sorudan oluşan görüş formu uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler
nitel analiz yöntemlerinden içerik analizi yöntemi ile ele alınmış ve belirli temalar altında incelenmiştir. Yapılan
analizler sonucundaöğrencilerimizin büyük bir çoğunluğunun devam etmekte oldukları bölümlerini sevdikleri,
ilerideiş imkânı fazla olduğu vesınavsız geçiş hakkından yararlanabilmeleri için meslek lisesini tercih ettikleri
ortayaçıkmıştır.Öğrencilerin çoğunluğu matematik dersindeki başarısızlıklarını dersi sevmemelerine, derse
odaklanamamalarına ve çalışmamalarına ayrıca kendilerine güvenemeyerek “yapamam” korkusu taşımalarına
bağlamışlardır.Öğrenciler matematik başarılarının meslek lisesi tercih etmelerinde etken olmadıını söylemekte
ve matematiğin geleceklerini etkilediğini düşünmemektedirler.Öğrencilerin matematiği sevmesi, onların gerçek
ve yaşayan matematikle tanışması ile mümkündür. Bu da mevcut ders programlarında matematiğin günlük
yaşamdaki yeri ve kullanım alanları ile ilgili daha fazla etkinliğe yer verilmesi ile sağlanabilir.
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