Teachers-Pupils Relationship in Mathematics Class and the Impact on Academic Achievements in Primary Schools in Osun Central Zone of Nigeria

This research paper examines the relationship between teachers and pupils in mathematics class and impact on academic achievements in primary schools in the Osun Central zone of Nigeria. The research used a quantitative approach, with a survey of public Primary School Teachers handling the teaching of Mathematics in Primary 4. Multi-Stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 100 teachers and 540 primary 4 pupils from 6 local government areas in Osun Central of Osun State. The survey assessed the teachers’ relationship including factors such as expectations, caring attitude and support, as well as the teachers' self-reported pattern of engagements in mathematics and also assessed the pupil academic achievements in mathematics’. Five research questions were answered and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Data collection was done by the researcher in each school. Data analysis was done using SPSS package version 26, with the statistical tools of Chi-square and the hypotheses were also tested using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The research instrument used for data collection was Teacher Relationship Inventory (TRI).Test-re-test method was used to carry out the reliability of the TRI. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and 0.82 was obtained. The results of the survey suggest that the quality of the teacher-pupil relationship had a significant impact on the pupils' academic achievements in mathematics. Specifically, the results revealed that teachers sees mathematics as difficult, majority of pupils do not love Mathematics, the teachers have very low caring attitude and/or support, and who also reported that pupils do not interact freely with them. Teachers do not enjoyed feeling comfortable communicating with them, tended to have higher levels of academic achievement in mathematics. The results of this research contribute to the existing literature by providing evidence of the importance of the teacher-pupil relationship for primary school pupils' academic achievement in mathematics. In particular, this study provides evidence for the need for teachers to be mindful of the qualities of their relationships with pupils, and to ensure these are positive, supportive, and safe. It also emphasizes the need to ensure that pupils are given sufficient guidance and support to ensure they are able to reach their learning goal.