METHODOLOGY...

 INTRODUCTION

This chapter includes five sections and describes methodological procedures of the study. The research approach used, research design, research method of data collection which consists of population, sample and sampling, technic of the data collection and instrument also the data analysis.

RESEARCH APPROACH

This is a study to determine whether classroom management influence students’ attitude towards Mathematics. A group of student from Pra SPM classes from Sekolah Menengah Sains Kota Tinggi have been selected as the population of this research. As there are a total of 137 students only 100 students were selected. 15 minutes were given for them to answer the questionnaires provided. The teacher was given a questionnaire on ways they manage his class before, after and when the class is conducted. Meanwhile the students have to answer questionnaires which determine their level of satisfaction for their Mathematics teachers. Quantitative approach was chosen as the research questions for the study could be answered by analysing the data gained by those questionnaires.

The main characteristics for a quantitative research are the instruments used to collect data are more structured. Using a quantitative approach shows that this study can be replicated or repeated, given its high reliability. Just like this study, a quantitative research has a clear defined research questions other than having all the aspects of the research are carefully designed before data is collected. Quantitative research means that the data gained will be in a form of numbers and statistics.

  RESEARCH DESIGN

For this research, as the objective is to find whether the classroom management of the teachers during the class is conducted influence students’ attitude towards Mathematics means that a relationship is looked through. Therefore, causal comparative is used as the research design of this study. Causal comparative may not be as powerful as experimental research but it is also to identify whether is there any relationship between two variables which in this study is the classroom management style practiced by those Mathematics teachers and the students’ satisfaction. Causal-comparative research attempts to identify a cause-effect relationship between two or more groups. Causal-comparative studies involve comparison in contrast to correlation research which looks at relationship. (Gay, 1987).

   RESEARCH METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

  POPULATION

The population of this study included all Mathematics teachers from Sekolah Menengah Sains Kota Tinggi located at Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi. All the students of Pra SPM  classes from the same school are also the population of the research. Both groups were given questionnaires to be answered. Students were given the students’ satisfaction questionnaires in order to measure their satisfaction on the teachers’ management style in class. While the teachers were given questionnaires to determine their management style.

SAMPLE & SAMPLING

From the population, a small sample was chosen. To narrow down these samples, certain ways of sampling were applied. As there are three Mathematics teachers for the Pra SPM students, a simple random sampling was done and two of them were chosen, Maths Teacher 1 (MT1) and Maths Teacher 2 (MT2). Total number of students from the Pra SPM classes is 137 so the appropriate sample size according to Krejcie and Morgan is around 100. Later, convenience sampling was done as the total number of the students both MT1 and MT2 taught is 102. So every student in the classes was given questionnaires to measure their satisfaction level.

INSTRUMENT

Two different questionnaires were used for the variables in the study which are the teachers and students. A questionnaire entitled ‘What is Your Classroom Management Profile?’ was adopted from Diana Browning Wright which she has adapted from the original and was used with the permission Department of Special Education, Indian University. A little different for the questionnaire distributed to the students where it was adapted from a survey used by the Penn State college to measure their students’ satisfaction. It was altered from the original as to make sure it is suitable enough for the Pra SPM students to understand and answer without any problems.

   DATA ANALYSIS

Results and data gained from the questionnaires answered were run using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The survey which MT1 and MT2 answered was look through beforehand to get their scores to determine their classroom management style which they have been applying in their Mathematics class. The teachers’ management style can either be authoritarian, authoritative, democratic or laissez-faire. Results obtained from both questionnaires can directly answer the first and second research questions. In order to answer the third research questions, a simple t-test were made as to find out if there is any correlational between the classroom management style practiced by the teachers with  the students’ satisfaction.