The influence of gender disparities on high school students’ mathematics performance

The differences in gender have consequence on mathematics achievement. Nonetheless, the dominance in the performance of mathematics with regards to both sexes remains skewed. Thus, the current study sought to measure the impact of gender disparities on mathematics performances and investigate the attitudes and perceptions towards the learning of mathematics in some selected senior high schools (SHS) in Ghana. A descriptive research design was employed. A total of 311 students were sampled using stratification approach. The analysis of the data was achieved using means, standard deviation and paired sample t-test. The findings show significant differences in both sexes’ perceptions and attitudes towards mathematics, with males having better perception and attitudes than females. Further, males exhibited superior mathematics performance to females on an account of the test administered. Finally, the study established that students’ mathematics background, learning environment, gender stereotype and career aspirations are factors that influence performance in mathematics at the SHS level. The study recommends heads of educational institutions to hire more female teachers to take up the teaching of mathematics with the view to modelling favourable high school female perceptions about mathematics. Implications for policy, practice and further research are addressed.