A Cross-Cultural Study of Intellectual and Nonintellectual Factors Influencing Mathematical Ability in Tibetan and Han Students

Abstract

We have already conducted cross-cultural studies of mathematical thinking ability and the capacity to study the schools' mathematics curriculum of Tibetan and Han students. Our study methods and results have been discussed in detail in "Study on the Differences in the Development of Mathematical Thinking Ability of Tibetan and Han Children"1 and "Comparative Study of the Development of Mathematical Ability in Han and Tibetan Secondary School Students."2 The results of the study show that Tibetan students' mathematical thinking ability and capacity to learn the school mathematics curriculum are lower than these skills in Han students in the same locality. What produces these differences? And what are the influences affecting the development of Tibetan and Han students' ability to think mathematically? In the previous studies, we carried out preliminary analysis on school conditions, family environment, language, and other areas, but analyzing these external factors is insufficient to explain these differences. Educational circles in China and overseas have recently considered that the primary factors influencing learning activities were intelligence and nonintelligence psychological factors. Therefore we can only accurately state the reasons for the differences in mathematical ability of Tibetan and Han students by analyzing the individuals' intellectual and nonintellectual factors. There have been studies that have looked at the influences of intellectual and nonintellectual factors in students' schoolwork, but they are usually limited to the Han nationality and only deal with cross-cultural issues in their conclusions. We therefore went to Tibetan areas to carry out field-work to examine the differences in mathematical ability of Tibetan and Han students. This paper endeavors to analyze the data comprehensively in order to probe the intellectual and nonintellectual factors influencing the development of mathematical ability in Tibetan and Han students.