Abstract
In the field of mathematics education, there is an increased awareness of the need to account for
the connection between mathematics and language. Despite the emphasis on this existing interconnectivity,
students often erroneously distinguish themselves as better oriented to one extreme or the other. This study
explores the pattern of academic performance of mathematics education students in language-dependent and
computation-dependent courses. The study built on the Monitor Theory of second language acquisition to
observe that school works existing as the practical result of learned language and grammar are among the
reasons some students unnecessarily fear language-dependent courses. Ex- post facto research design was
adopted to analyze the scores of 48 students enrolled in a programme in mathematics education at a university
in North Central Nigeria. A total of 29 core courses across six (6) semesters were split into two dichotomous
extremes of language-dependent and computation-dependent based on content and scope. Each student’s
scores were averaged across each category, with the absolute difference between the two averages taken as
measure of achievement gap between the two extremes. A paired samples t-test of students average scores
in the two categories indicates a statistically significant difference (t 0.05,47 = 7.3244, p = 0.000). Further
analysis shows that 41.67% of the students are language-dependent, 2.08% computation-dependent, and
56.25% not dependent on any of the extremes. Additional analysis of variance (ANOVA) among three (3)
identified performance categories reveals that the achievement gap differ significantly among bottom, middle
and top achievers, with the mean achievement gap lowest among top Achievers. The findings of this study
stressed the reality of inherent and superficial categorization based on the two extremes among mathematics
education students. The interpretation of the findings in terms of students’ unique orientation and mindset
towards mathematics education were also discussed. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended
that future works may consider introducing corroborative information about participant’s inclination toward
the two extremes to strengthen eventual placement from attainment scores.
Joshua Abah. (2018) Academic Outcomes in Language-Dependent and Computation-Dependent Courses among Mathematics Education Students in a Nigerian University: Top-Achievers Still Best of both Extremes, Journal of Education & Social Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 2.
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