Students’ Perception on Difficulties of Symbols, Graphs and Problem Solving in Economic

This study was carried out to explore the form six students’ perceptions on difficulties in learning the symbols, graphs and problem solving items in their Economic subject in STPM (Malaysian Higher School Certificate). The sample comprised of 150 students from five national secondary schools in Kedah. The test comprised of 18 items namely six symbol items, six graph items and six Economic problem solving. This test covered Chapter 1 to 4 of the micro economic and macro economic of form sixth in the Economic syllabus. All these items were validated by a group of experts and experienced form sixth Economic teachers. The interview results showed that 70 percent of the students failed to differentiate the items in terms of symbols, graphs and problem solving. The results validated by the frequent mistakes performed by students in answering the Economic assessments according to the topics. Findings from the students interviewed also indicated that the graph items were easier to answer compared to the symbols and Economic problem solving items. The findings in this study suggest that the Economic teachers need to highlight these three types of items to improve their students learning ability and achievements in this subject.