Understanding Performance of Undergraduate Students in Trigonometry in South-West of Nigeria

Abstract

Trigonometry is a course that student’s first experience with mathematics beyond what they
have learnt in the secondary school. It provides critical prerequisite skills for both physical and
biological science students. This study investigated the level of performance in trigonometry
among undergraduate students in the South-West Universities of Nigeria. The research design
used in the study was a descriptive survey type. 150 undergraduate students from faculty of
science were randomly selected from three (3) universities in the South-west region of
Nigeria. Instrument used to gather data for this study was Trigonometry Achievement Test
(TAT) (r = 0.78). The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and independent
sample t-test at 5% level of significance. The results indicated that the level of performance
of majority of the undergraduate students in the trigonometry achievement test was good 94
(62.7%) and 3 (2.0%) perform poorly. There was no significant mean differences in
performance based on the type of secondary school (public, private) graduated from
(t(148)=1.426, p 0.05), while there was significant mean difference in performance based
on their area of study (t(148)=1.576, p 0.05. Based on these findings, it is recommended
that lecturers teaching trigonometry course should consider all the different areas of study of
the undergraduate students that are offering trigonometry course in order to enhance their
performance in the course.