Mathematics Phobia in Developing Areas: Implications for Technical Manpower Development in Nigeria

The study investigated the problems of mathematics phobia among students and the impact on technical manpower development in Rivers State of Nigeria. Two sets of structured questionnaires were used to elicit appropriate responses from the respondents and simple proportion /percentage scores were employed for data analysis. It was found that teachers' aggressive attitudes resulting from lack of motivation, poor instructional strategies, and students' poor questioning habits due to culture, contribute to poor subject matter conceptualization and phobia for mathematics among the students. This situation impacts negatively on students' performances in the subject, and has serious implications for technical manpower development in the state. It is recommended that the teachers should be well motivated, appropriate instructional materials and teaching methods should be adopted, and the students should be encouraged to ask relevant questions irrespective of culture. Keywords: mathematics phobia, technical manpower development, mathematics performanceMathematics Connection Vol. 6 2007: pp. 41-4