Math Self-concept Research Articles

Exploring control-value motivational profiles of mathematics anxiety, self-concept, and interest in adolescents.

In this study, we identified multidimensional profiles in students' math anxiety, math self-concept, and math interest using data from a large generalizable sample of 16,547 9th grade students in the United States who participated in the National Study of Learning Mindsets. We also analyzed the extent that students' profile memberships are associated with related measures such as prior mathematics achievement, academic stress, and challenge-seeking behavior. Five multidimensional profiles were identified: two profiles which demonstrated relatively high levels of interest and self-concept, along with low math anxiety, in line with the tenets of the control-value theory of academic emotions (C-VTAE); two profiles which demonstrated relatively low levels of interest and self-concept, and high levels of math anxiety (again in accordance with C-VTAE); and one profile, comprising more than 37% of the total sample, which demonstrated medium levels of interest, high levels of self-concept, and medium levels of anxiety. All five profiles varied significantly from one another in their association with the distal variables of challenge seeking behavior, prior mathematics achievement, and academic stress. This study contributes to the literature on math anxiety, self-concept, and interest by identifying and validating student profiles that mainly align with the control-value theory of academic emotions in a large, generalizable sample.

Mathematics Performance, Academic well-being, and Educational Aspirations of Junior High School Students

Academic well-being is one of several elements that influence students' math learning and performance. This study looked at students' academic well-being in terms of math self-concept, schoolwork engagement, and burnout in relation to their educational aspirations in mathematics. It looked at the connections between the learners' mathematical performance and educational goals, as well as the connections between the learners' academic well-being and those variables. It used a descriptive-correlational study design. The population of grade 10 students from Lawa Integrated School served as the source of the statistics 161 students were gathered using the standard random sampling method (males: 86, females: 75). A survey questionnaire was used to assess the student's academic well-being in terms of math self-concept, schoolwork engagement, and school burnout, educational aspirations, and mathematics achievement to gather data. The mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, mean percentage scores, Pearson product-moment, and Spearman rank order correlations were used to examine the collected data. The results showed a robust and statistically significant association between the student's academic success and their arithmetic proficiency. The findings showed a small but statistically significant correlation between the learners' academic well-being and educational aspirations. On the other hand, there was a modest and statistically significant correlation between the learners' academic achievement in mathematics and their aspirations for further education.

The role of parental involvement and mathematics self-concept of elementary school students in online mathematics learning

Introduction. Learning mathematics from home during the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge for both parents and students to manage to engage in learning. Therefore, it is important to examine the involvement of parents in learning mathematics from home and students’ mathematics self-concepts and their relationship to mathematics performance.Aim. This study is aimed to analyse parental involvement and students’ mathematical self-concept, the relationship between the two, and their effect on students’ mathematical performance in online learning.Methodology and research methods. A cross-sectional survey was used to achieve the research objectives. There were 56 elementary school students in rural areas who were involved in this study. To assess parental involvement and mathematics self-concept, the authors employed questionnaires. Meanwhile, the results of the mid-semester test were used to assess student math performance. The answers to the research questions were reported using descriptive analysis, correlation, regression, and the t-test.Results. Based on the results of the analysis, parental involvement, both in terms of support and control aspects, has a significant influence on mathematics performance. On the other hand, mathematics self-concept and performance positively influence each other. The findings of the present research also show that the gender group and grade level group did not have significant differences for each variable.Practical significance. This study has implications for schools to maximise parental involvement in their children’s mathematics learning effectively. Communication between schools, teachers, and children, in particular, becomes critical to maximise children’s potential, including their math self-concept.

The impact of communal learning contexts on adolescent self-concept and achievement: Similarities and differences across race and gender.

Misalignment between students' communal values and those expressed in classrooms is an obstacle to academic engagement, especially in mathematics, and especially for racial ethnic minority and female students. Using 10 schools across the United States, we conducted a longitudinal field study in 8th grade mathematics classes to investigate: (a) how perceptions of communally oriented classrooms influence student outcomes in early adolescence, (b) what psychological processes mediate these relations, and (c) whether the influence of perceived communal practices in classrooms have similar or different effects on students with varying social identities based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Results showed that middle school classes that emphasize communality (both social relevance of math and peer collaboration) significantly predicted stronger math self-concept, more behavioral engagement, and better performance in math. These associations were mediated through three psychological processes-belonging, challenge, and self-efficacy. Among racial ethnic minority adolescents, feelings of belonging and challenge in math class were key psychological processes that enhanced math learning outcomes. These processes were activated when classes connected communal values to math. Finally, communal learning contexts benefited girls and boys equally. In sum, communal values practiced by emphasizing social relevance of academic content and using collaborative learning practices engage all students, especially students of color, at a formative period of academic learning in mathematics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of Math Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy on the Math Achievement of Sixth-Grade Primary School Students: The Mediating Role of Math Anxiety

The Effect of Math Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy on the Math Achievement of Sixth-Grade Primary School Students: The Mediating Role of Math Anxiety

수학 마인드셋에 초점을 둔 초⋅중등 예비교사들의 수학 신념 조사

Objectives It is to examine the mathematical mindsets of pre-primary and secondary school teachers in Korea and the mathematical beliefs that affect them. Methods A survey was conducted on 108 pre-service teachers who will be elementary, middle or high school teachers in the near future and verification of differences between groups was verified using SPSS's t-test and ANOVA. In addition, the correlation between the mathematical mindset and other factors was analyzed. Results The average math beliefs and math mindsets of pre-service teachers were slightly above 3 on a 5-point scale, respectively. In addition, there was a tendency for mathematical beliefs and mathematical mindsets to change negatively as the grade rises. However, although there were no differences by university, gender, and high school, the interaction effect of gender by university was significant in math self-concept, and male students in both universities had higher math self-concept than female students. In addition, math mindsets were found to be correlated with self-concept, mastery orientation, and belief in mathematics. Conclusions As the existence of preliminary teachers with fixed mindsets has been confirmed, teacher education institutions should devise measures to explicitly guide preliminary teachers to the theory of growth.

Exposure to stereotype-relevant stories shapes children's implicit gender stereotypes.

Implicit math = male stereotypes have been found in early childhood and are linked to girls' disproportionate disengagement from math-related activities and later careers. Yet, little is known about how malleable children's automatic stereotypes are, especially in response to brief interventions. In a sample of 336 six- to eleven-year-olds, we experimentally tested whether exposure to a brief story vignette intervention with either stereotypical, neutral, or counter-stereotypical content (three conditions: math = boy vs. neutral vs. math = girl) could change implicit math-gender stereotypes. Results suggested that children's implicit math = male stereotypes were indeed responsive to brief stories that either reinforced or countered the widespread math = male stereotype. Children exposed to the counter-stereotypical stories showed significantly lower (and non-significant) stereotypes compared to children exposed to the stereotypical stories. Critically, exposure to stories that perpetuated math = male stereotypes significantly increased math-gender stereotypes over and above baseline, underscoring that implicit gender biases that are readily formed during this period in childhood and even brief exposure to stereotypical content can strengthen them. As a secondary question, we also examined whether changes in stereotypes might also lead to changes in implicit math self-concept. Evidence for effects on implicit self-concept were not statistically significant.

Gender-math stereotypes and mathematical performance: the role of attitude toward mathematics and math self-concept

Gender-math stereotypes and mathematical performance: the role of attitude toward mathematics and math self-concept

How Self-Concept, Competence, and Their Fit or Misfit Predict Educational Achievement, Well-Being, and Social Relationships in the School Context

During adolescence, what is more important for educational achievement, well-being, and the formation of positive social relationships: being competent, having positive thoughts about oneself, or a complex relationship between the two? There has been a long-standing debate in psychology on the effects of accurate and biased self-perceptions, and sophisticated ways of modeling the effects of self-perception, competence, and their interplay have recently been suggested. But recent research has focused on adults and has not taken reference effects into account. The present preregistered study used a large German sample of students (N = 6,086 students in 559 classes) in Grade 5 (mean age = 10.55 years, SD = 0.64) with data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). We tested the effects of academic self-concept and competence in math and reading on outcomes pertaining to achievement, well-being, and social relationships up to 4 years later and identified the best fitting hypotheses through a model fit comparison. In contrast to previous studies, we took the frame of reference for students’ self-concept into account by controlling for class-level effects of self-concept and competence in a multilevel analysis. Results showed that educational achievement was best explained by the complex interplay of self-concept and competence, where competence was the stronger predictor. By contrast, self-concept was a stronger predictor of well-being than competence was. For social relationships, results were less clear and differed by the specific outcome variables that were used. Overall, in the school context, self-concept and competence per se seem to be more predictive of future outcomes than their fit or misfit.

The interplay of math anxiety and math competence for later performance

Math anxiety’s negative effects on performance are well-documented. The interplay of math anxiety and mathematical competence regarding later performance is underexplored. We investigated whether math anxiety’s detrimental effects on learning depend on previous mathematical competence. Hypothesizing a moderation effect, we expected that trait math anxiety should affect pupils of higher competence to a greater extent than pupils with lesser competence. Based on 8th graders in secondary school, we found the expected interaction of math anxiety and math competence (represented by previous math grade) predicting performance three months later. The interaction of math anxiety and math competence on later performance remained despite controlling for math self-concept and gender (and previous topic-specific performance). The moderation showed differential slopes for the effects of math competence on later performance depending on trait math anxiety: At lower competence levels, math anxiety played a lesser role than for higher competence levels. Later performance was lowest for more competent pupils with higher math anxiety relative to their peers with similar competence levels but lower math anxiety. Although the data imply directionality, our design cannot imply causality. Nevertheless, one interpretation of the results is in line with the notion of greater performance losses over time for more competent pupils with higher levels of math anxiety: the learning progress may be aggravated for those, who have the prerequisite in ability to advance their performance. The optimal development of math capabilities may be compromised by math anxiety; good math abilities and low math anxiety may both be prerequisites for long-term learning success.

“I have cried in almost all of my math classes.” Relations between math self-concept, gender, and narrative appraisals of past low points in math

Math self-concept is strongly associated with a range of academic and career outcomes in math. The current research sought to identify factors that distinguish between undergraduates with particularly low or high math self-concept. A sample of 754 college students were asked to recall a low point they had with math as well as respond to questionnaires measuring math self-concept, value, and anxiety. Focal analyses were conducted on a subsample of participants who reported either high (n = 90) or low (n = 94) math self-concept. Relative to participants who had high math self-concept, those with low math self-concept tended to be women, had higher math anxiety, and valued math less. Thematic analysis also revealed similarities and differences in how undergraduates from these two groups appraised challenges, or low points, that they encountered in their history with math. Although there were similarities in the types of low points described by members of these two groups, these experiences were often appraised in distinct ways. Unique themes also emerged for each group, indicating that narrative interpretations of math experiences vary with current levels of math self-concept. Implications for future research and math education are discussed.

Social Contexts and Gender Disparities in Students’ Competence Beliefs: The Role of Gender-Stereotypical Beliefs and Achievement Patterns in the Classroom for Students’ Self-Concept in Gender-Stereotypical Subjects

This study investigated the role of social contexts for gender disparities in education by examining the associations between gender-stereotypical beliefs (GSB) of students, peers, and teachers and gender achievement patterns in the classroom and students’ self-concept in language and math. We applied multilevel models with school fixed effects to a unique sample of combined survey and register data from Denmark to analyze detailed learning environments within schools and their correlations with gender differences in self-concept across subject domains. Results showed a gender gap in favor of boys in mathematics, net of academic achievement that were consistent across classrooms. In language, the influence of gender varied across classrooms. Furthermore, although GSB and gender achievement patterns did not alter the gender gap in either language or mathematics, we found that they moderated the relationship between gender and self-concept in heterogeneous ways across subjects. While teachers’ GSB increased the gender gap in language by decreasing boys’ self-concept, the students’ own GSB was more important for students’ self-concept in mathematics. Moreover, girls’ mathematics self-concept was lower in classrooms, in which, female peers had a relatively higher level of mathematics achievement compared to boys, suggesting that counter-stereotypical achievement patterns in the classroom do not increase students’ self-concept in subjects with strong gender stereotypes. On the contrary, girls are most likely to compare themselves to female peers, resulting in a negative association with self-evaluations. Our results highlighted the role played by social contexts in schools in the generation of gender differences in self-concept in traditionally stereotyped subject domains, but also showed important differences in how boys and girls were affected by their learning environments across different subject domains, suggesting there are different mechanisms at play.

Supplemental Material for Extending the Reciprocal Effects Model of Math Self-Concept and Achievement: Long-Term Implications for End-of-High-School, Age-26 Outcomes, and Long-Term Expectations

Supplemental Material for Extending the Reciprocal Effects Model of Math Self-Concept and Achievement: Long-Term Implications for End-of-High-School, Age-26 Outcomes, and Long-Term Expectations

Pass or Failure of Students in The “WASSCE” Mathematics Mock Examination: The Binary Logistic Regression Model

This study predicts students’ pass or failure in the WASSCE mathematics mock examination. Three hundred (300) Senior High School (SHS) students, comprising one hundred and fifty-nine (159) males and one hundred and forty-one (141) females from selected Senior High Schools in the Cape Coast Municipal District of the Central Region, participated in the study. The binary logistic regression model comprising continuous and categorical predictor variables was adopted. The results indicated that the raw score coefficients for Math self-concept, Math attitude, Instructional strategies and methods, Teacher competency in math, and Gender, were positive and significant (P < .05), while that of High Socio-Economic Status (SES) was negative and significant (P < .05). The adjusted odds ratio for gender was 2.24, with a C. I of .45 -11.02. The adjusted odds ratio for mathematics self-concept was 7.40, with a C. I of 2.32 - 23.60, while, the adjusted odds ratio for Instructional strategies and methods was 31.67, with a C.I of .97 -15.40. An implication of this study is that mathematics teachers should not downplay the role these significant predictors play in the teaching and learning of the subject. Mathematics teachers must create a conducive atmosphere in the classroom to support active learning among students. The study concludes that to increase the probability of students passing the examination, the value of the exponential term in the computation of the probability must reduce considerably. This can be realised through an effective combination of the predictor variables.

Student profiles of self-concept and interest in four domains: A latent transition analysis

Dimensional comparisons lead to contrast effects between academic self-concepts, implying that students view themselves as a math-type or a verbal-type. This study examined the short-term stability of these types and their generalizability to academic interest. N = 382 students completed questionnaires on self-concept and interest in math, physics, German, and English at two measurement waves over five weeks. Latent transition analyses were conducted with self-concepts and interests as indicators, revealing four profiles for both constructs. For self-concept a math+highprofile, verbal+highprofile, verbal+lowprofile and generally-moderateprofile were found. For interest a mathprofile, verbal profile, generally-highprofile, and generally-lowprofile were found. These profiles indicated that the formation of domain-specific self-concept and interest differs between groups of students. The profiles were stable across measurement waves. Relations to school grades and gender matched theoretical assumptions.

Do grades make me big? School effects of math ability and math grades on math self-concept

In research on math self-concept (MSC) formation, very few studies have juxtaposed the effects of math grades, math ability, school-average math grades, and school-average math ability. However, these factors are important in enabling Taiwanese senior school students to achieve proper MSC and choose a suitable academic track. Thus, the present study aimed to model the relationship of these factors with MSC. The study also examined the gender effect and school location (rurality) effect. The sample contained 1,196 10th-grade students from 31 senior high schools in Taiwan. A doubly latent multilevel linear model was adopted to account for both sampling and measurement errors. The results suggested that math grades relative to the school-average math grade are key in MSC formation. There were school location and gender effects but no significant interaction between gender and school-level math grade or ability. These effects are discussed, as are the implications in practical settings.

The generalized internal/external frame of reference model with academic self-concepts, interests, and anxieties in students from different language backgrounds

Student motivation and affect play an important role in successful language learning. To investigate the formation of language learning motivation and affect, this study extended the generalized internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model framework to multiple languages (German and French, along with math) and multiple motivational-affective outcomes (academic self-concept, interest, and anxiety). We examined whether social and dimensional comparisons play similar roles in the formation of students’ self-concepts, interests, and anxieties concerning different languages and whether dimensional comparisons result in contrast or assimilation effects. Moreover, we tested the generalizability of the GI/E model assumptions across students with different language backgrounds. Using a data set comprising virtually all ninth-grade students (N = 6275; 48.0% female) from Luxembourg’s multilingual educational system, our findings indicated (1) clear contrast effects in the formation of self-concept and interest in math, German, and French, and (2) a combination of contrast, assimilation, and no effects in the formation of anxiety in math, German, and French. Using a subsample of 5837 students with valid language information (48.0% female), invariance tests demonstrated that the GI/E achievement–outcome relations operated equivalently across students from different home language backgrounds.

Development of children’s math attitudes: Gender differences, key socializers, and intervention approaches

The relation of various math attitudes to math achievement has been extensively studied in adolescents and adults. Recently, researchers have begun to examine the math attitude-math achievement relation in young children. We review theories and research on four attitudes relevant to early math learning—math anxiety, math self-concept, mindset, and math-gender stereotype. These attitudes emerge and are related to math achievement by early elementary school. Our review suggests that early math achievement plays an important role in the initial development of either positive or negative math attitudes, which in turn, may initiate a vicious or virtuous cycle that can enhance or undermine math learning. Additionally, gender differences in math attitudes (favoring boys) emerge by early to mid-elementary school. An important future direction involves understanding how early attitudes about math relate to each other, and whether certain constellations of attitudes are prevalent. We also consider three types of math attitudes that key socializers—parents and teachers—hold: general (math-gender stereotypes and mindsets), self-relevant (math anxiety), and child-specific (expectations and value of math for their child or student). Our review highlights a link between key socializers’ math attitudes and associated behaviors, and their children’s math attitudes and math achievement. Based on these findings, we propose the Early Math Achievement-Attitude model (EMAA). An important future direction involves increasing our understanding of how key socializers with different math attitude constellations engage with children around math. Finally, based on our review of these topics as well as intervention studies, we discuss intervention approaches that hold promise for improving young children’s math achievement and math attitudes.

The immigrant paradox and math self-concept: An SES-of-origin-country hypothesis

The immigrant paradox is the phenomenon where recent immigrants have better outcomes than individuals from native-born families. Although limited past research has shown the paradox to exist for math self-concept, neither its exact nature nor a theoretical explanation for its existence have been reported. Using Australian cohort data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 (N = 12,551) and 2012 (N = 14,481), we first establish that immigrant students have higher math self-concepts than native students, controlling for gender and absolute parental socioeconomic status (SES), and show that it is similar to—albeit weaker than—the expectation-achievement gap. We then provide an SES-of-origin-country hypothesis as a contextual explanation for this effect; we show that the immigrant paradox for both math self-concept and educational expectations substantially reduces when accounting for parents' SES relative to their country-of-origin. Our findings suggest that the paradox for math self-concept and educational expectations may partly result from immigrant parents’ socioeconomic advantage in their home countries.

Co-development of math anxiety, math self-concept, and math value in adolescence: The roles of parents and math teachers

Despite the well-documented negative implications of math anxiety on math learning, a scarcity of theory-guided, long-term longitudinal research limits knowledge about how math anxiety develops over time. Guided by the Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions (Pekrun, 2006), the present study addresses this gap by examining (1) how math anxiety develops in tandem with the development of control and value appraisals across secondary schooling, and (2) how these three constructs co-develop in relation to characteristics of home and school contexts. We used growth mixture modeling to investigate how math anxiety, math self-concept (a frequently examined indicator of control appraisal), and math utility value (one dimension of math value) develop in parallel in a sample of 3116 adolescents, who were assessed annually across middle and high school. We identified three trajectory classes: a stable class, characterized by stably modest math anxiety, high math self-concept, and high math utility value, a linear change class, characterized by increasing math anxiety and decreasing math self-concept and utility value, and a fluctuating class, characterized by curvilinear changes in math anxiety, math self-concept, and math utility value. Parental academic support and teacher bias differentiated the stable class from the fluctuating class at the transition to middle school, and from the linear change class at the transition to high school. Our findings point to the heterogeneous contributions of control and value appraisals towards the development of math anxiety and highlight the importance of investigating multiple dimensions of the socio-ecological context at different stages of math anxiety development.