Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Shamila Dewi Davadas; Yoon Fah Lay

doi:10.12973/ejmste/80356

Full Text (PDF)

Shamila Dewi Davadas ¹, Yoon Fah Lay ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Students’ attitude towards mathematics is affected by factors such as parental influences, teacher affective support and classroom instruction. The purpose of this research was to examine the inter-relationships between these factors and effects on attitude towards mathematics using a partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach. A survey was carried out with a sample of 318 Form Four students from Sabah, Malaysia. The questionnaire consists of four scales: Perceived Parental Influences, Teacher Affective Support, Classroom Instruction and Attitude towards Mathematics. IBM SPSS 19.0 and Smart PLS 2.0 were used to analyze the measurement and structural models. The results showed that with the exclusion of some indicators from the scales, the measurement models showed acceptable reliability and validity. The structural model has moderate predictive relevance but the inter-relationships of the constructs in the structural model were significant. Teacher affective support and classroom instruction predict attitude towards mathematics more than parental influences.

Keywords

attitude towards mathematics
classroom instruction
perceived parental influences
teacher affective support
structural equation modeling
partial least squares

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2018, Volume 14, Issue 1, 517-529

https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

Publication date: 15 Nov 2017

Article Views: 37914

Article Downloads: 18501

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Abu Bakar, K. A., Tarmizi, R. A., Nor, S. M., Ali, W. Z. W., Hamzah, R., Samad, A. A., & Jamian, A. R. (2010). Teachers and learner’s perspectives on learning mathematics for at-risks students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8(C), 393–402. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.055.
Aliasgari, M., Riahinia, N. & Mojdehavar, F. (2010). Computer-assisted instruction and student attitudes towards learning mathematics. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 3(1), 6-14 doi:10.1108/17537981011022779.
Author, & Khoo, C.H. (2010). A Structural model to predict mathematics achievement among form one students of Sabah, Malaysia. A Structural Equation Modeling approach. In Boorer et al. (Eds.) Bridging worlds: Making connections in education. International Conference on Education ICE 14th: 2009: Bandar Seri Begawan.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Engelwood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Berends, M., Goldring, E., Stein, M., & Cravens, X. (2012). Instructional conditions in charter schools and students’ mathematics achievement gains. American Journal of Education, 116(3), 303–335.
Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Open Access Textbooks. Book 3. Retrieved on 12.2.16 from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3.
Bilican, S., Demirtasli, R. N., & Kilmen, S. (2011). The attitudes and opinions of the students towards mathematics course: The comparison of TIMSS 1999 and TIMSS 2007. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 11(3), 1277–1284.
Cai, J., Moyer, J.C., & Wang, N. (1997). Parental roles in students’ learning of mathematics. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. ED 412 087.
Cao, Z., Bishop, A., & Forgasz, H. (2006). Perceived parental influence on mathematics learning: A comparison among students in China and Australia. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 64, 85–106. doi:10.1007/s10649-006-9033-5.
Charalambous, C. Y., Panaoura, A., & Philippou, G. (2009). Using the history of mathematics to induce changes in preservice teachers’ beliefs and attitudes: Insights from evaluating a teacher education program. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 71(2), 161–180. doi:10.1007/s10649-008-9170-0.
Chen, Z.-H., Liao, C. C. Y., Cheng, H. N. H., Yeh, C. Y. C., & Chan, T.-W. (2012). Influence of game quests on pupils’ enjoyment and goal-pursuing in math learning. Educational Technology and Society, 15(2), 317–327.
Chiesi, F., & Primi, C. (2009). Assessing statistics attitudes among college students: Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Survey of Attitudes toward Statistics (SATS). Learning and Individual Differences, 19(2). 309–313. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2008.10.008.
Chin, W.W. (1998). The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling. In G.A. Marcoulides (Eds.), Modern methods for business research (pp. 295-236) London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
Cronbach, L. J. (1971). Test validation. Educational Measurement, Issues and Practice, 2, 443-507.
Etuk, E. N., Afangideh, M. E., & Uya, A. O. (2013). Students’ perception of teachers’ characteristics and their attitude towards mathematics in Oron Education Zone, Nigeria. International Education Studies, 6(2). doi:10.5539/ies.v6n2p197.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable and measurement error, Journal of Marketing Research, 34(2), 161-188.
Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Levine, S.C., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). The Role of Parents and Teachers in the Development of Gender-Related Math Attitudes. Sex Roles. 66, 153-166.
Hair Jr., J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (Seventh Ed.). Prentice Hall. Retrieved from http://www.cob.unt.edu/slides/Peak/Stat Books/Hair et al 2010.pdf.
Hodges, C. B., & Kim, C. (2013). Improving college students’ attitudes toward mathematics. TechTrends, 57(4), 59–66. doi:10.1007/s11528-013-0679-4.
Hosack, L. B. (2006). The effects of hands-on instructional strategies on fourth grade students’ attitudes and performance in mathematics. University of Central Florida.
Hulland, J. (1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies. Strategic Management Journal, 20, 195-204.
Jacobs, J. E., Davis-Kean, P., Bleeker, M., Eccles, J.S., & Malanchuk, O. (2005). I can but I don’t want to. in Gallagher, A.M., & Kaufman, J.C. (Eds.) Gender Differences in Mathematics. 246 – 263. Cambridge University Press.
Jarvis, C. B., Mackenzie, S. B. & Podsakoff, P. M. (2003). A critical review of construct indicators and measurement model misspecification in marketing and consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 30.
Johnson, B. (2000). Investigation of the factors affecting attitudes toward mathematics of students in different college mathematics courses. Ohio University.
Kerr, Z. (2007). Parental influences on mathematics achievement of children of immigrant backgrounds. The University of British Columbia.
Lewis, B. R., Templeton, G. F., & Byrd, T. A. (2005). A methodology for construct development in MIS research. European Journal of Information Systems, 14, 388-400.
Lipnevich, A. A., Maccann, C., Krumm, S., Burrus, J., & Roberts, R. D. (2011). Mathematics attitudes and mathematics outcomes of U.S. and Belarusian middle school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 105–118. doi:10.1037/a0021949.
Lubienski, S. T., Lubienski, C., & Crane, C. C. (2012). Achievement differences and school type: The role of school climate, teacher certification, and instruction. American Journal of Education, 115(1), 97–138.
Mackenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Jarvis, C. B. (2005). The problem of measurement model misspecification in behavioural and organizational research and some recommended solutions. Journal of Applied Psychology. 90(4).
Mahamood, S. F., Tapsir, R., Saat, A., Ahmad, S., Wahab, K. A., Boon, M. H. A., & Rahman, K. A. (2012). Parental attitude and involvement in children’s education: A study on the parental aspiration among form four students in Selangor. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 42), 117–130. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.04.173.
Marchis, I. (2011). Factors that influence secondary school students’ attitude to mathematics, Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences. 29, 786–793. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.306.
Ministry of Education Malaysia (2012). Malaysia Education Development Plan 2013-2025, Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education.
Moenikia, M., & Zahed-Babelan, A. (2010). A study of simple and multiple relations between mathematics attitude, academic motivation and intelligence quotient with mathematics achievement. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 1537–1542. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.231.
Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., & Arora, A. 2012. TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics. TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center.
Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., & Hooper, M. (2016). IEA’s Trends in International Science and Mathematics Study. Retrieved from http://timss2015.org/download-center at 7:25 p.m. on 01.09.2017.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. R. (1994). Psychometric Theory (3rd edition). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Poffenberger, T., & Norton, D. (1959). Factors in the formation of attitudes toward mathematics. The Journal of Educational Research, 52(5), 171–176.
Reyes, L. H., & Stanic, G. M. A. (1988). Race, sex, socioeconomic status, and mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 19(1), 26–43.
Ringle, C., Wende, S., & Will, A. (2004). SmartPLS 2.0.M3. Retrieved from http://www.smartpls.de.
Sakiz, G. (2007). Does teacher affective support matter? An investigation of the relationship among perceived teacher affective support, sense of belonging, academic emotions, academic self-efficacy beliefs, and academic effort in middle school mathematics classrooms. Ohio State University.
Sakiz, G., Pape, S. J., & Hoy, A. W. (2012). Does perceived teacher affective support matter for middle school students in mathematics classrooms? Journal of School Psychology, 50(2), 235–255. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2011.10.005.
Schukajlow, S., Leiss, D., Pekrun, R., Blum, W., Muller, M., & Messner, R. (2012). Teaching methods for modelling problems and students’ task-specific enjoyment, value, interest and self-efficacy expectations. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 79, 215–237. doi:10.1007/s10649-011-9341-2.
Singh, S. P., & Imam, A. (2013). Effect of personal and institutional variables on mathematics achievement of secondary school students. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 10(3), 22–33.
Straub, D., Boudreau, M.-C., & Gefen, D. (2004). Validation guidelines for IS positivist research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13, 380-427.
Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory. Springer Science+Business Media.
Tahar, N. F., Ismail, Z., Zamani, N. D., & Adnan, N. (2010). Students’ attitude toward mathematics: The use of factor analysis in determining the criteria. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 476–481. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.065.
Tapia, M. (1996). The Attitudes toward Mathematics Instrument. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association. Tuscaloosa, AL.
Tapia, M., & Marsh, G. E. (2000). Effect of gender, achievement in mathematics, and ethnicity on attitude towards mathematics. In Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association. Bowling Green, KY.
Tessema, T. G. (2010). Classroom instruction and students’ attitudes towards mathematics. Arizona State University.
Urbach, N., & Ahlemann, F. (2010). Structural equation modeling in information systems research using partial least squares. Journal of Information Technology Theory & Application, 11, 5–40.
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J.S. (2000). Expectancy–value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68 – 81. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1015.
Woon, Peggy H.Y. (2005). Hubungan antara Sikap terhadap Matematik dengan Pencapaian Matematik Pelajar Tahun Tiga. Tesis Sarjana Pendidikan. Fakulti Pendidikan. Universiti Malaya.
Yang, X. (2015). Rural junior secondary school students’ perceptions of classroom learning environments and their attitude and achievement in mathematics in West China. Learning Environments Research. 18(2), 249–266.
Ziggers, G.W. & Henseler, J. (2009). Inter-firm network capability: How it affects buyer-supplier performance. British Food Journal, 111(8). 794 – 810.

How to cite this article

APA

Davadas, S. D., & Lay, Y. F. (2018). Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(1), 517-529. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

Vancouver

Davadas SD, Lay YF. Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2018;14(1):517-29. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

AMA

Davadas SD, Lay YF. Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2018;14(1), 517-529. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

Chicago

Davadas, Shamila Dewi, and Yoon Fah Lay. "Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2018 14 no. 1 (2018): 517-529. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

Harvard

Davadas, S. D., and Lay, Y. F. (2018). Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(1), pp. 517-529. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356

MLA

Davadas, Shamila Dewi et al. "Factors Affecting Students’ Attitude toward Mathematics: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 14, no. 1, 2018, pp. 517-529. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80356