A STUDY ON ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT AND MATHEMATICAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS

Abstract

The present study investigates the academic engagement of high school teachers in relation to their mathematical communication skills. The study aims to examine differences in teacher engagement and mathematical communication skills with respect to gender, type of management, teaching experience, employment status, and utilization of learning resources, and to explore the relationship between these two variables. The survey method was adopted, and a sample of 600 high school teachers from Chennai district was selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using a Teacher Academic Engagement Scale and a Mathematical Communication Skills Scale. The data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Karl Pearson’s correlation. The findings revealed that female teachers exhibit higher academic engagement than male teachers, while no significant gender difference was observed in mathematical communication skills. Significant differences were found based on type of management, teaching experience, employment status, and utilization of learning resources. Government school teachers showed higher engagement, whereas self-finance school teachers demonstrated better mathematical communication skills. Teachers with 10–20 years of experience exhibited higher engagement, while those with more than 20 years showed stronger communication skills. Permanent teachers were found to be more engaged than temporary teachers, though both groups demonstrated similar communication skills. Teachers using math laboratories showed higher engagement, whereas those using library resources demonstrated better communication skills. A significant positive relationship was found between teacher engagement and mathematical communication skills. The study concludes that higher levels of teacher engagement contribute to improved mathematical communication, thereby enhancing overall teaching effectiveness.