English Language Journal Vol 3, (2009) 102-114 ISSN 1823 6820

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Children learn mathematics informally or formally from an early age. In informal education, mathematics is indirectly learned from those who are close to them. Mathematics is simple. It is widely used in through everyday life activities. In formal education, mathematics is first taught in kindergarten. It is the core subject and must be taken by all individuals, from kindergarten until they complete their school days. If they are interested, they can continue to a higher level. At that level, mathematics is categorised in a number of disciplines such as Algebra, Calculus, Statistics and etc. Even though mathematics is taught at the earlier stage and interrelated with everyday usage, its achievement is still lacking and not to be proud off (Noraini, 2005). Why? Students find it difficult, boring and they do not have the basic skills (Marzita, 2002). To obtain a good foundation of mathematics, students must achieve three mathematical skills: to calculate, to solve problems and to communicate (Curriculum Unit 1992). Students must have all these skills. Two out of the three skills mentioned above, that is quantitative problem solving and communication skills become a major problem to average and weak students (Mohd Sarif & Abdul Razak, 1996). The implementation of teaching mathematics in English is seen as a challenge to students. It becomes a major problem especially for those who are not well versed in the language. Research shows that not having the basic knowledge in English to teach mathematics can influence students achievement (Abedi, Lord & Hofstetter, 1998; Abedi, Lord & Plummer 1995). As a result, the average and the weak students face a double problem. Therefore, in order to make students good in mathematics, not only do they need to have the three mathematical skills, but they must also be well versed in English. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Ministry of Education has made a number of reforms in the Mathematics Curriculum. The latest Reform is in the medium of teaching mathematics, changing it from Bahasa Melayu to English. The reform of the medium of instruction is an obstacle for some teachers (Ruslin et al. 2002). This happens if it does not get the full support of teachers, students, school administration, and the public. Based on past research, the effects of implementation, a changed
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curriculum, and education innovations have to be based on the teacher and within the school itself (Mohd. Nor, 1994). A teacher is a very important individual for determining a successful implementation. Normally, the teachers confidence to carry out a change is based on abilities, confidence and the skill to carry it out. Bandura (1986), stated that self confidence makes a person able to implement or manage what is being trust upon him or her. A good teacher is a teacher who has self confidence (Shahril et al. 1994). A study was made on mathematics teachers. The result shows that the ones who try less or to try out new things in methodology are the ones who are less trained and less confident in mathematics (Irwin & Britt, 1999). So, the teacher is the most important factor that determines the success of an implementation or change. Without confidence, nothing can be done. With these findings, a research study is being carried out with mathematics teachers. Samples were taken from lower secondary school mathematics teachers of Southern Perak only. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The conceptual framework for this research is based on social learning theory. The theory explains the human behavior on thinking, reaction and assumption (Miller & Dollard, 1941). The two important parts of this theory are individual beliefs of individual skills and findings from the individual experiences. Transformation of teacher confidence is a lean transformation and experience of teaching mathematics is a measured transformation. In this research, confidence refers to beliefs and mathematics teacher abilities to teach in English. Based on the theory, a conceptual framework was built. It shows three links of gender, school location and experience of teaching, with transformation of teachers experience of teaching mathematics in English.

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Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Gender School location Teaching mathematics experience

Confidence

Teaching mathematics in English

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The aim of this study is to find out the degree of mathematics teachers confidence in teaching mathematics in English based on gender, school location and their teaching experience. RESEARCH NULL HYPHOTHESIS The statistical analysis interference is null hypothesis and tested at a significance level of 0.05. There are three null hypotheses to be tested. They are: H01 : There is no significant difference in teachers confidence for teaching mathematics in English between male and female teachers.

H02 :

There is no significant difference in teachers confidence for teaching mathematics in English between rural and
urban areas.
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H03 : There is no significant difference in teachers confidence for teaching mathematics between experienced and nonexperienced teachers. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION i. Confidence Confidence according to Keller and Kopp (1987), is a way of building a strategy to reduce fear among students. According to Bandura (1989), one of the factors for fear reduction is confidence. In this research, teachers confidence toward teaching mathematics in English is defined as teachers confidence and abilities to teach mathematics in English. ii. Teachers Ibrahim (2001) defines teachers as those who are trained and accredited as teachers. These teachers can render their services in private or government institutions. For this research, a teacher is defined as a person who teaches mathematics in English at a lower secondary school. iii. Teaching Experience Teaching Experience in this research is defined as informal education in a certain period of time to obtain experience and skill in teaching mathematics. An experienced teacher in this research is a teacher who has had more than 10 years of teaching mathematics. A teacher who is less experienced is the one who did not have at least 10 years of teaching experience.

LITERATURE REVIEW Many research studies on self confidence have been done by others. Results show that a teachers role is important to foster and implant interest in learning mathematics. To achieve a good lesson result, a teacher must have self confidence. This will not only influence his teaching methods but also will leave an impression of his teaching, happiness and satisfaction on him as well as on his students.
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Zuraida and Ismail (1996) did a research study of science teachers in primary school regarding their confidence and attitude toward teaching science. The research was done to observe their attitudes and beliefs about teaching science in primary school. It involved 181 primary school teachers in five states. Overall results show that their confidence was at an average level. The experienced teachers had better confidence compared to the non experienced teachers. Abdul Razak and Rashidi (1993) did a research study to evaluate how successful the program was to equip the teacher trainees with curriculum and KBSR mathematics knowledge and skills in teaching KBSR mathematics. It was also done to take into consideration the suggestion to upgrade the quality of the program. 142 samples of trained mathematics teachers in 1988, 1989 and 1990 were taken. The results showed that 3.7 % were not interested in teaching KBSR mathematics. Only 37.1 % had the confidence and skills to teach mathematics. In his research, Chua (1995), make a conscientious study of 420 students and 20 teachers at three Chinese medium and one English medium schools in Hong Kong about their attitudes and confidence. The results showed that the teachers used more of their mother tongue in science class than English eventhough told to teach science in English, as instructed. He believes, the usage of English can push their reading and writing skills upward without affecting their mother tongue Chinese. The weak students and those who are in the Chinese medium schools have a very low confidence toward English. Overall, this study showed that the teachers were not prepared to teach in English and that English medium students were more willing to accept the English teaching compared to the Chinese students. Ninety students of a rural secondary religious school in Selangor showed a positive attitude toward English (Mohd Arif, 1999). They were motivated by their awareness of English as a second language. The students had a positive perception of the western community. Nevertheless, they were not ready to communicate in English out of the class. They had confidence in themselves. Research by Christopher and Susan (2003) found that motivation, confidence and expectation are the main factors for students academic achievement. The purpose of that study was to observe if there was any difference based on gender, toward self confidence. Samples were taken from 4,012 students who were 17 years old and older. Results showed a significant difference between males and females. Male students had a higher level of self confidence
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compared to female students. Results supported the Eccles et al. (1989) and Findley and Cooper (1983) findings. A study by SCRE ( Scottish Council for Research in Education ) in 1997 in Lay ( undated ) observed the level of understanding among the primary school science teacher toward the concept of science and technology. Results showed a significant difference between male and female teachers toward teaching science. Male teachers had a higher level of self confidence compared to females. For the female teachers, those who had a science background were more confident compared to the ones without. Apart from that, results did show that there were differences between those who had a longer training than those who were newly trained. The seniors were more confident in teaching mathematics, English and Religious Study (Agama). Those who were newly trained were more confident to teach Science and Technology only. METHODOLOGY This section explains the method used in collecting data and information. Research Method Quantitative research methods were used in this study. A set of questionnaires were used to gain data. Survey methods were usually used for the education research because it is more relevant and is being used by Fraenkel and Wallen (1993);

i. Information was collected from a group of communities to

explain certain aspects that represent a population. ii. Information was collected through questions and answers that become research data. iii. Information was collected from samples, not from every population.

Samples The population sample used in this study were teachers who teach mathematics in government secondary schools in Perak. They were mathematics teachers of lower secondary levels who teach Form One, Form Two and in Form Three. They were chosen because they
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teach mathematics in English. 199 samples were taken from 37 government secondary schools in Southern Perak. The method of collecting samples in this study was by random group sampling. It was based on group rather than on individual (Wiersma, 2000). The sample was used due to the suitability of teachers of lower secondary schools who teach mathematics in English in Form One, Form Two and Form Three. Instrument A set of questionnaires was the instrument used in these studies. It was used to measure the variable being studied, to obtain the data and the information. The questionnaire was divided to two parts; Part A and Part B. Part A is for their personal data, while Part B consisted of 16 items to measure the teachers confident in teaching mathematics in English. The building of self confidence item was based on the set of questionnaires used by Zurida and Ismail (1996). It was reconstructed so as it could measure the confidence of the mathematics teacher who teach in English. Pilot Study A pilot study is an important activity in an observation study (Weirsma 2000). To determine the authenticity of a study instrument, a pilot study was carried out. A pilot study was done on 30 teachers who teach mathematics in Form One, Form Two and Form Three, in schools other than the sample schools. But, the teachers population is the same. The variable index value Cronbach Alpha (a) was used to determine the variable instrument. Mohd. Majid (2004) stated that the coefficient variable that is more than 0.6 is the coefficient that can be accepted and always used. In this study, the coefficient of Cronbach Alpha (a) obtained for the teacher confidence in teaching mathematics in English was 0.900. Data Analysis The collected data from the questionnaire were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 12 software. The statistics are used to find out whether the hypothesis null study can be accepted or not. The data analysis of this study used the explanation statistic and inference statistic.
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The explanation statistic is used to detail the sample background, factors related to gender, school location and teaching experience. Inference statistics were used to test the hypothesis null study. In this study the application of inference was the T-Test. The T-test used in this study was to determine the discrepancy between teachers confidence toward teaching mathematics in English based on gender, school location and the experience in teaching mathematics. RESULTS This part discusses the product after a detailed examination and evaluation of data collected from the questionnaire. Profile of Sample Table 1 show the frequency and percentages for the sample. It covers the differences of gender, school location and communication skill levels in English, academic qualification and experience as a mathematics teacher.
Table 1: Frequency (n) and Percentage (%) of Sample.

Variable Gender School location Age

Profile Male Female Urban Rural < 26 years 2630 3135 3640 > 40 years Malay Chinese Indian Others . . .

Frequency (n) 72 127 102 97 13 29 46 49 62 160 26 11 2

Percentage (%) 36.2 63.8 51.3 48.7 6.5 14.6 23.1 24.6 31.2 80.4 13.1 5.5 1.0

Race

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Level of Communication skills in English Academic Qualification

Fluent Average Not Fluent SPM/ MCE STPM/ HSC 1st. Degree Degree Others . . . < or = 10 yrs. > 10yrs.

74 115 10 16 15 145 7 16 116 83

37.5 57.8 5.0 8.0 7.5 72.9 3.5 8.0 58.3 41.7

Experience as Mathematics teacher

Teachers Confidence in Teaching Mathematics in English Based on Gender Based on the T test, t = - 0.756 with the value of p = 0.451, the result, H01 is accepted as a = 0.05. This result shows there is no significant discrepancy in mean for teachers confidence toward teaching mathematics in English between male teachers (56.3472) and female teachers (57.0787). Refer to Table 2.
Table 2: Mean Discrepancy of Teachers Confidence for Teaching Mathematics in English Between the Male Teachers and the Female Teachers. Variable Confidence Gender Male Female n 72 127 Mean s.d t -0.756 p 0.451*

56.3472 6.89388 57.0787 6.36908

* NOT significant at level a = 0.05

Teachers Confidence in Teaching Mathematics in English Based on Location of School Based on the T test, t = 1.371 with the value of p = 0.172, the result, H02 is accepted as a = 0.05. This result shows there is no significant discrepancy for the mean for teachers confidence toward teaching mathematics in English between the rural school teachers (57.414) and the urban school teachers (56.1649). Refer to Table 3.
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Table 3: Mean Discrepancy of Teachers Confidence for Teaching Mathematics in English Between the Rural School Teachers and the Urban School Teachers. Variable Confidence School location Urban Rural n 120 97 Mean 57.414 56.1649 s.d 7.08856 5.91199 1.371 0.172* t p

* NOT significant at level a = 0.05

Teachers Confidence in Teaching Mathematics in English Based on their Teaching Experience Based on the T test, t = -3.148 with the value of p = 0.002, the result, H03 is accepted as a = 0.05. This result shows there is a significant discrepancy for mean teachers confidence toward teaching mathematics in English between the experienced teachers (58.5060) and the non experienced teachers (55.5060). Refer to Table 4.
Table 4: Mean Discrepancy of Teachers Confidence for Teaching Mathematics in English Between the Experienced Teachers and the Non Experienced Teachers. Variable Teaching Experience n 116 83 Mean 55.6034 58.5060 s.d 6.55927 6.20262 -3.148 0.002* t p

Confidence < or=10 years > 10 years

*NOT significant at level a = 0.05

CONCLUSION This is an observation study and it is limited to Southern Perak only. Nevertheless, the results obtained can be used as a guideline to implement teaching mathematics in English and particularly with regard to the teachers confidence level in teaching mathematics in English and in particular teachers who are teaching in Form One, Two and Three.
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