Attitudes towards mathematics at secondary levelDevelopment and structural validation of the Scale for Assessing Attitudes towards Mathematics in Secondary Education (SATMAS)

  1. Lara Yáñez-Marquina 1
  2. Lourdes Villardón-Gallego 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Deusto
    info

    Universidad de Deusto

    Bilbao, España

    ROR https://ror.org/00ne6sr39

Revista:
Electronic journal of research in educational psychology

ISSN: 1696-2095

Any de publicació: 2016

Volum: 14

Número: 40

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.14204/EJREP.40.15163 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccés obert editor

Altres publicacions en: Electronic journal of research in educational psychology

Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible

Resum

Introduction. In secondary education, students’ low achievement and engagement in mathe-matics are closely related to their attitudes towards the subject. Despite the international body of research, an exhaustive literature review of the existing instruments for measuring it draws attention to the inconsistency in the definition and corresponding factor structure for the con-struct attitudes towards mathematics. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop and vali-date an instrument for measuring secondary students’ attitudes towards mathematics based on a preliminary detailed theoretical framework.Method. The sample comprised 792 students, with an average age of 13.96 (SD = 1.09) years, from Biscay (Basque Country Autonomous Region, Spain). Confirmatory factor anal-yses were conducted to test the theoretical proposed non-hierarchical structure, consisting of three first-order factors (student’s math self-concept, perceived usefulness of mathematics and interest for mathematics). Results. The results largely confirmed that this model showed a good fit to the data. Internal consistency, discriminant validity and criterion-related validity tests yielded good Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, strong correlations between the proposed dimensions and moderately posi-tive correlation scores between attitudes towards mathematics and students’ mathematical performance measured with a math achievement test developed ad-hoc. Discussion. The resulting 19-item scale may represent a psychometrically sound instrument both for research purposes and for educational interventions. To conclude, the contribution of the present study to the research on attitudes towards mathematics is discussed, and some is-sues are suggested for future research to address.

€ Mostra el finançament

Informació de finançament

This research was funded by the University of Deusto Research Training Grants Programme 2013-2016 (University of Deusto, Bilbao).

Finançadors

Referències bibliogràfiques

  • Aiken, L.R. (1974). Two scales of attitude toward mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 5, 67-71. doi: 10.2307/748616
  • Aiken, L.R., & Dreger, R.M. (1961). The effect of attitudes on performance in learning mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 52(1), 19-24.
  • Alemany-Arrebola, I., & Lara, A.I. (2010). Las actitudes hacia las matemáticas en el alumnado de ESO: un instrumento para su medición. Publicaciones, 40, 49-71.
  • Anjum, R. (2006). The role of self-concept in mathematics achievement of primary school children. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 21-38.
  • Auzmendi, E. (1992). Las actitudes hacia la matemática-estadística en las enseñanzas medias y universitaria: Características y medición. Bilbao: Mensajero.
  • Barth, J.M., Todd, B., McCallum, D.M., Goldston, M., Guadagno, R.E., Roskos, B., & Burkhalter, C. (2011). Effects of engaging classroom strategies and teacher support on student outcomes over school transitions. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education.
  • Bazán, J.L. (1997). Metodología estadística de construcción de pruebas. Una aplicación al estudio de actitudes hacia las matemáticas en la UNALM. UNALM: Lima (tesis).
  • Bentler, P.M. (2005). EQS Structural equations program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software. Inc.
  • Bouchey, H.A., & Harter, S. (2005). Reflected appraisals, academic perceptions, and math/science performance during early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(4), 673-686. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.97.4.673
  • Brown, T. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Creemers, B.P.M., & Reezigt, G.J. (2005). Linking school effectiveness and school improvement: The background and outline of the project. School effectiveness and school improvement, 16(4), 359-371. doi: 10.1080/09243450500234484
  • Crombie, G., Sinclair, N., Silverthorn, N., Byrne, B.M., Dubois, D.I., & Trinneer, A. (2005). Predictors of young adolescents’ math grades and course enrollment intentions: Gender similarities and differences. Sex Roles, 52(5-6), 351-367. doi: 10.1007/s11199005-2678-1
  • Di Martino, P., & Zan, R. (2010). ‘Me and maths’: Towards a definition of attitude grounded on students’ narratives. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 13, 27-48. doi: 10.1007/s10857-009-9134-z
  • Dutton, W.H., & Blum, M.P. (1968). The measurement of attitudes toward arithmetic with a Likert-type test. Elementary School Journal, 68, 259-264. doi: 10.1086/460443
  • Eccles, J.S., & Wigfield, A. (2002).Motivational beliefs, values, and goals.Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153
  • Fennema, E., & Sherman, J.A. (1976). Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales: Instruments designed to measure attitudes toward the learning of mathematics by females and males. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 7, 324-336. doi:10.2307/748467
  • Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. doi: 10.2307/3151312
  • Gairín, J. (1990). Las actitudes en educación. Un estudio sobre la educación matemática. Barcelona: Boixareu Universitaria.
  • Goldin, G. (2002). Affect, meta-affect, and mathematical belief structures. In G. Leder, E. Pehkonen & G. Törner (Eds.). Beliefs: A hidden variable in mathematics education? Dordrecht: Kluwer.
  • Gómez-Chacón, I.M. (2000). Affective influences in the knowledge of mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 43(2), 149-168. doi: 10.1023/A:1017518812079
  • Grootenboer, P., & Hemmings, B. (2007). Mathematics performance and the role played by affective and background factors. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 19(3), 310. doi: 10.1007/BF03217459
  • Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babib, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7thed.). Upper Saddke River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Helmke, A. (1989). Incentive value of success and failure in school. Developmental trends and impact on academic achievement. In F. Halisch & J.J.L. Van den Berchen (Eds.), International perspectives on achievement and task motivation (225-237). Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.
  • Hoyle, R.H., & Panter, A.T. (1995). Writing about structural equation models in structural equation modeling. In R.H. Hoyle (Ed.). Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts. Issues and Applications (158-176). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Hu, L.T., & Bentler, P.M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Quotation Modeling, 6, 1-55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118
  • Ignacio, N.T., Nieto, L.J., & Barona, E.G. (2006). The affective domain in mathematics learning. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 1(1), 16-32.
  • Kadijevich, D. (2008). TIMSS 2003: Relating dimensions of mathematics attitude to mathematics achievement (MA). Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja, 40(2), 327346. doi: 10.2298/ZIPI0802327K
  • Lei, M., & Lomax, R.G. (2005). The effect of varying degrees of nonnormality in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 12, 127. doi: 10.1207/s15328007sem1201_1
  • Lim, S.Y., & Chapman, E. (2013). Development of a short form of the attitudes toward mathematics inventory. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 83, 145-164. doi: 10.1007/s10649-012-9414-x
  • 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
  • Ma, X., & Kishor, N. (1997). Assessing the relationship between attitudes towards mathematics and achievement in mathematics: A meta-analysis. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28(1), 26-47. doi: 10.2307/749662
  • Mahoney, C.A., Thombs, D.L., & Howe, C.Z. (1995). The art and science of scale development in health education research. Health Education Research,10, 1-10. doi: 10.1093/her/10.1.1-a
  • McLeod, D.B. (1992). Research on affect in mathematics education: A reconceptualisation. In D.A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (575-596). New York, NY: McMillan.
  • Melancon, J.G., Thomson, B., & Becnel, S. (1994). Measurement integrity of scores from the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales: The attitudes of public school teachers. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 187-192. doi: 10.1177/0013164494054001024
  • Michaels, L.A., & Forsyth, R.A. (1977). Construction and validation of an instrument measuring certain attitudes toward mathematics. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 37(4), 1043-1049. doi: 10.1177/001316447703700429
  • Mulhern, F., & Race, G. (1998). Development of a shortened form of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 295306. doi: 10.1177/0013164498058002012
  • Muñoz, J.M., & Mato, M.D. (2006). Diseño y validación de un cuestionario para medir las actitudes hacia las matemáticas en alumnos de ESO. Revista galego-portuguesa de psicoloxía e educación, 13, 413-424.
  • Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nded.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  • O’Neal, M.R., Ernest, P.S., McLean, J.E., & Templeton, S.M. (1988, November). Factorial validity of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Louisville, KY.
  • Palacios, A., Arias, V., & Arias, B. (2014). Attitudes Towards Mathematics: Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument. Journal of Psicodidactics, 19(1), 67-91. doi: 10.1387/RevPsicodidact.8961
  • Ruffell, M., Mason, J., & Allen, B. (1988). Studying attitude to mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 35, 1-18.
  • Samuelsson, J., & Granstom, K. (2007). Important prerequisite for students’ mathematical achievement. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education, 3(2), 150-170.
  • Sandman, R.S. (1980). The mathematics attitude inventory: Instrument and user’s manual. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 11(2), 148-149. doi: 10.2307/748906
  • Satorra, A. (2003). Power of chi-square Goodness-of-fit test in structural equation models: the case of non-normal data. In H. Yanai, A. Okada, K. Shigemasu, Y. Kano & J. J. Meulman (Eds.). New developments of psychometrics (57-68). Tokio: Springer Verlag.
  • Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5thed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
  • Tapia, M. & Marsh, G. E. (2004). An Instrument to Measure Mathematics Attitudes. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(2), 16-21.
  • Ullman, J.B. (2006). Structural equation modeling. In B.G. Tabachnick & L.S. Fidell (Eds.). Using multivariate statistics (5thed), (653-771). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
  • Ursini, S., Sánchez, G., & Orendain, M. (2004). Validación y confiabilidad de una escala de Actitudes hacia las Matemáticas y hacia las Matemáticas Enseñadas con Computadora. Educación Matemática, 16(3), 59-78.
  • Van de Grift, W., & Houtveen, T. (2006). Underperformance in primary schools. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 17, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/09243450600697317
  • Watt, H.M.G. (2000). Measuring attitudinal change in mathematics and English over the first year of junior high school: A multidimensional analysis. Journal of Experimental Education, 68, 331-361. doi: 10.1080/00220970009600642
  • Williams, T., & Williams, K. (2010). Self-efficacy and performance in mathematics: Reciprocal determinism in 33 nations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 453-466. doi: 10.1037/a0017271
  • Yasar, M. (2014). Short form of Mathematics Attitude Scale: Its psychometric properties. Pakistan Journal of Statistics, 30(6), 1267-1277
  • Zan, R., Brown, L., Evans, J., & Hannula, M.S. (2006). Affect in mathematics education: An introduction. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 63(2), 113121.doi: 10.1007/s10649-006-9028-2
Fuente de los datos: Dialnet