Examining the Factors Affecting the Academic Achievement of Syrian Secondary School Students in Mathematics Lesson

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting the academic success of Syrian secondary school students in mathematics by taking the opinions of teachers and students. The research was carried out with 6 mathematics teachers working in two state secondary schools in the city center of Isparta and 10 Syrian students studying at the same schools. In the study conducted on the basis of volunteerism, the participants were selected by convenient sampling method. In this study, case study, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. The data were collected with a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher and analyzed with the content analysis method. As a result of the findings, the most mentioned factor among the factors affecting the academic success of Syrian students in mathematics is the adequacy of knowing Turkish by students. It is thought that the academic success in the mathematics course will increase with the improvement of the Turkish language of Syrian students and the meaningful teaching of mathematical concepts. It is recommended that additional studies be carried out for students with insufficient knowledge of Turkish and poor reading and writing skills, and that different methods and techniques and assessment tools should be used in mathematics lessons.