The relative contribution of mathematics to students’ performances in science subjects in english-speaking secondary schools in cameroon

This study which set out to determine the relative contribution of mathematics to students’ performances in science subjects in English-speaking secondary schools was carried out in Mezam Division of the North West Region of Cameroon. It employed the Survey and the Correlational research designs. 357 Form five students from 14 secondary schools, drawn from a targeted population of 1147 students from 34 public secondary schools constituted the sample of the study. The sample was arrived at through stratified disproportionate random sampling technique. Performance was measured using students’ 2017 General Certificate of Education (GCE) mock scores in mathematics, physics and chemistry at the Ordinary Level (O/L). Data was analyzed using the linear regression analysis. The findings suggest that there is a high positive correlation (R = 0.601) between mathematics and physics and a low positive correlation (R = 0.364) exists between mathematics and chemistry. The t-test further revealed that both relationships were significant. Thus the coefficient of determination (r2) between mathematics and physics is 0.361, while that between mathematics and chemistry is 0.133. Thus 13.3% and 36.1% of the variations in students’ performances in O/L chemistry and physics respectively, can be accounted for by their performances in mathematics. It was therefore recommended that educational authorities should have as target to improve students’ performances in mathematics as a key way of improving their performances in the sciences.