Mathematics Achievement Motivation in a Collectivist Culture: The Role of Gender Differences and Self-Efficacy

Olutola Opeyemi Akindipe

doi:10.7176/jep/10-3-11

Abstract

We live in a computerized and technologically advanced age where mathematics-related disciplines represent the future. However, students from many collectivist cultures are underachieving in mathematics. Literature suggests that mathematics achievement and motivation are impacted by self-efficacy, yet the relationship between these variables in most collectivist cultures remains unclear. Also, empirical evidences of gender differences in mathematics self-efficacy and motivation studies exist, albeit, with generally inconsistent findings. This study examined the gender differences and the relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and motivation of students in a collectivist culture. Three hundred and forty three sixth grade students aged 9 -13 were randomly selected from 10 public and private elementary schools in Southwestern Nigeria. The participants consisted of 175 girls and 168 boys with mean age of 10.82. The mathematic self-efficacy and motivation measures were adapted from Pintrich et al’s al.’s (1991) Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation analyses. Results revealed no significant gender differences in mathematics motivation and self-efficacy but showed that mathematics self-efficacy was positively correlated with motivation. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations suggested. Keywords: mathematics, self-efficacy, motivation, gender, collectivist culture DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-3-11

Highlights

The role of mathematics in the development of nations cannot be overemphasized; it is relevant in people’s daily functioning and in national growth and advancement
Many studies have concluded that male students perform better in mathematics compared to their female counterparts (Adeneye & Adeleye, 2011; Bassey, Joshua, & Asim, 2007) others have reported that female students performed better in the subject than male students (Robinson & Lubienski, 2011; Muthukrishna & Kwela, 2010; Fabiyi, 2017)
To determine if the self-efficacy of female students was significantly different from that of male students, an independent t-test was conducted to compare the means of the two groups

Summary

Introduction

The role of mathematics in the development of nations cannot be overemphasized; it is relevant in people’s daily functioning and in national growth and advancement. Due to the lack of adequate governmental funding that affects the availability of educational resources, training and remuneration of teachers, and research in mathematics, many students from developing countries do not perform well in mathematics, often failing at national and local mathematics examinations (Aburime, 2007) It is in mathematics-related disciplines that several scientific and technological knowledge and skills that are needed to solve societal problems such as food insecurity, health epidemics and environmental degradation and to effectively develop societies can be acquired. Found no gender difference in students’ mathematics achievement (Adebule & Imoko, 2014; Ajai & Imoko, 2015) Despite these conflicting findings, the fact remains that females are underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The fact remains that females are underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines They have lower enrollment and graduation rates in college and less presence in the male-dominated careers (Watt, 2006). Female participation in these careers is low, and they are rarely found in top managerial and leadership positions (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, 2016)

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Discussion

Conclusion