Effects of Emotional Intelligence Skills Training on Gender-Based Attitudes Towards Mathematics among Senior Secondary School Students, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Emotional Intelligence Skills Training on gender-based attitudes towards Mathematics among Senior Secondary School II students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. The study was guided by three objectives, three research questions, and three null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design was adopted. The population comprised 26,821 Senior Secondary II students in public secondary schools in FCT Abuja. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select a sample of 137 students. Data were collected using the Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ) and Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIQ), with reliability coefficients of 0.95 and 0.96 respectively. Mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test were used for data analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed no significant difference in Mathematics attitude between male (M = 177.92, SD = 8.78) and female students (M = 180.69, SD = 17.60) exposed to emotional intelligence training (p = .48 > .05). However, significant differences existed between male students in the experimental and control groups (p < .05) and between female students in the experimental and control groups (p < .05). The study concluded that emotional intelligence training significantly improves students’ attitudes towards Mathematics irrespective of gender and is therefore gender-inclusive. It was recommended that emotional intelligence training strategies should be integrated into Mathematics instruction to promote positive attitudes towards learning Mathematics among secondary school students.