Attitudes towards mathematics of students of initial teacher training in Mexico

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyze the attitudes towards mathematics of students of initial teacher training in order to determine their assessment with respect to the dimensions of utility, difficulty, pleasure, anxiety and self-concept towards this subject. The type of research was a quantitative approach with a correlational scope. The sample consisted of 383 participants. The instrument used was a questionnaire with Likert type questions to obtain the respective information, which was organized and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The relevant findings were that the students have a low average attitude toward difficulty, pleasure, anxiety and self-concept, but with a high average attitude toward utility. The main conclusion was that the participants had negative attitudes towards mathematics in the categories of pleasure, anxiety, difficulty and self-concept, but they recognized its usefulness as a discipline.

Keywords

• student body of the initial teacher training
• attitudes towards mathematics
• utility
• pleasure
• anxiety
• self-concept