رویکردهای نوین آموزشی (Aug 2021)
An Exploratory Study of the Students Perceptions about Learning Mathematics: The Powerful Influences of Mathematical Self-Concept and Study Skills
Abstract
The aim of this research was to discover the most effective factors influencing students learning in secondary schools mathematic courses. With regard to the exploratory nature of this aim, researchers designed a comprehensive questionnaire for measuring diverse variables related to the learning of mathematics that measured student’s perceptions or learning experiences. Then, the GPower software was used for determining the required sample size and collecting survey data. Nine public secondary schools were randomly selected through the cluster sampling method. After the implementation of the questionnaire on high school 10th graders in each school, finally 575 complete and analyzable questionnaires were returned. The exploratory factor analysis was implemented and two categories of interrelated factors were detected; one concerning student’s self-conceptions and the other, concerning student’s perceptions about their teachers. The multivariate regression showed that student’s perceptions of themselves has a powerful influence on their learning in math courses. After implementation of mixed models' method and controlling the effect of student’s academic major, it was revealed that student’s mathematical self-concept and student’s study skills in math have the greatest influence in their academic achievement in mathematics. The most important implication of this finding is the necessity of promoting student’s positive self-concept in math and guiding their specific and suitable skills for individual study. Many teachers say: “how can I teach math more effective?” these findings put this question forward: “how can I promote my student’s math self-concept and study skills”. It seems that the aforementioned question could be an invaluable challenge for math teachers.
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