Assessing the Influence of Emotional Intelligence and Teacher Support on Mathematics Performance of Secondary School Students in AMAC, FCT, Abuja

Abstract

This study investigates the Influence of Emotional Intelligence and Teacher Support on the mathematics performance of Secondary School Students in AMAC, FCT, Abuja. Two research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The researcher developed one instrument titled Emotional Intelligence and Teacher Support Scale (EITSS) with a reliability coefficient value of 0.8. A simple sampling technique was adopted for the selection of five secondary schools in AMAC LG, and simple random sampling was used for the selection of students from Senior Secondary School One (SS1), Two (SS2), and Three (SS3). A total sample size of 350 students participated in the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that a significant number of students reported positive emotional regulation; for instance, 75.7% effectively manage their emotions even during challenging mathematics problems. Also, the analysis revealed a statistically significant difference (t = 12.903, p < 0.05) between the genders. Male students (N=160) have a higher mean perception score (Mean = 37.813) than female students (N=190, Mean = 28.290), indicating that males tend to perceive emotional intelligence. It is therefore recommended that school administrators and educational policymakers should introduce gender-sensitive emotional intelligence support programmes and provide continuous teacher training on emotional intelligence and supportive teaching strategies.