Relationships Between Cognitive Styles and Indigenous Students’ Mathematics Academic Outcomes

Abstract

This article explores the link between cognitive styles and Indigenous students’ mathematics academic outcomes. There were three different groups of Indigenous West Papuan students participating in this study: 9 junior high school students, 12 senior high school students, and 46 university students. Data were collected from the results of the group embedded figure test and the previous semester's scores and analysed using a quantitative approach. In contrast to previous studies, the results indicated no significant correlation between cognitive styles and mathematics academic outcomes for junior and senior high school students. However, the different cognitive styles showed a significant contribution for university students. As Indigenous students pursue a higher level of education, their cognitive styles would influence their mathematics academic outcomes.

Keywords

• Indigenous students; Cognitive styles; Mathematics academic outcomes; Mathematics learning achievement.