Repercussion of Higher Education Reform on Mathematics: In the Case of New Entry of Mathematics Students in One of Ethiopian University

Abstract

This study sought to examine how first-year students in the mathematics departments of Ethiopia's government universities were affected by recent reforms in higher education. An inferential T-test was used along with a descriptive survey design to carry out the investigation. A total of 86 mathematics students participated in the study and filled out achievement test questions, 30 of whom joined the department after taking the new reform's freshman course in 2020 and 30 and 26 of whom joined the department before the new reform's freshman course was delivered in 2019 and 2018, respectively. A 40-item achievement test on elementary concepts of algebra in mathematics was used as an instrument for the study. Out of 40 concepts, the mean scores reported by students who joined the department of mathematics after and before taking their freshman course were 19 and 15, respectively. Moreover, there was a significant difference in students who joined the department of mathematics after and before the new reform and took the freshman course regarding understanding and solving elementary algebraic concepts of mathematics with equal variances, not assumed to be p = 0.040 less than p = 0.05 level of significance. It is therefore recommended that it is extremely important to improve mathematics success for all students and that the new freshman course reform plays a significant role in increasing students' mathematics success rate. This study has proven that they are trainable, and therefore, the new reform of freshman courses has to be nurtured for all students.