Analysis of the Inventories on the Impact of Mentoring Students’ Attitude and Interest in Mathematics

Authors

  • Silas Abahia Ihedioha ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY UTURU,NIGERIA

Keywords:

Inventories, Impact, Students’, Attitude, Interest, Mathematics

Abstract

Students’ interest and attitude towards Mathematics have been factors that influence students’ achievement in Mathematics. The purpose of this study is to analyze the inventories on the students’ interest and attitude towards Mathematics and find out if mentoring the students has made any impact on the students. Fourteen and fifteen students of the weak group participated in attitude and interest inventories, respectively. Questionnaires were administered to find out their attitudes towards, and interest in, Mathematics. The students answered questions regarding their personal confidence in, and perceived usefulness of Mathematics. The t-tests show that there were statistically significant differences in both attitude and interest from the pre to the post survey. Also, the interview results showed that the students realised the importance of Mathematics and would gain more should they take the study of Mathematics more seriously. This implies that the mentoring exercise imparted positively on the students. It is recommended, among others, that Mentors and mentees should put more effort towards achieving higher percentage of success if not hundred percent. Mentoring should be broad based so that successful people in all works of life will be invited to mentor the students.

References

Baroody, A. J. (1987). Children’s Mathematical thinking: developmental frame work for preschool, primary, and special education teachers. New York: Teachers college press.

Bishop, A. J. (1996). International handbook of mathematics education. Springer.

Orton, A., Orton, D., & Frobisher, L. J. (2004). Insights into teaching mathematics. Continuum International Publishing Group.

Rubinstein, M. F. (1986). Tools for thinking and problem solving. New Jersey : Prentice Hall

Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, M A : Addison –Wesley

Eagly and Chaiken, (1993). The Psychology of Attitudes, Fort Worth, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Maio, G., Maio, G. R., & Haddock, G. (2010). The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Bohner, G., & Wänke, M. (2002). Attitudes and attitude change. Psychology Press.

Köğce, D., Yıldız, C., Aydın, M. & Altındağ, R., (2009). Examining Elementary School Students’ Attitudes towards Mathematics in Terms of Some Variables, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 291-295.

Tahar, N. F., Ismail, Z., Zamani, N. D., &Adnan, N. (2010). Students‟ Attitude Toward Mathematics: The Use of Factor Analysis in Determining the Criteria. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 476–481.

Klein, M. (2004). The premise and promise of inquiry based mathematics in pre-service teacher education: A poststructuralist analysis. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), 35-47. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 1 No. 15 [Special Issue –October 2011] .

Yilmaz, C., Altun, S. A. & Ollkun, S. (2010). Factors affecting students‟ attitude towards math: ABC theory and its reflection on practice. Procedia Social Science and Behavioural Sciences, 2, 4502-4506.

Papanastasiou, C. (2000). Effects of attitudes and beliefs on mathematics achievement. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 26, 27-42.

Cater, G. S & Norwood, K. S. (1997). The relationship between teacher and students‟ belief about mathematics. School science and mathematics, 97 (2), 62- 67.

Ford, M. I. (1994). Teachers' beliefs about mathematical problem solving in the elementary school. School Science and Mathematics, 94(6), 314-322.

Karp, K. (1991). Elementary school Teachers‟ Attitude toward mathematics: The impact on students‟ autonomous learning skills. School Science and mathematics, 9 (16), 265-270.

Tobias, S. (1993). Overcoming math anxiety: Revised and expanded. New York:

W. W. Norton.Ernest, P. (2004). Images of mathematics, values and gender. In S. Johnston-Wilder & B. Allen (Eds.), Mathematics education: exploring the culture of learning. Routledge.

Tezer, M. & Karasel, N. (2010). Attitudes of primary school 2nd and 3rd grade students towards mathematics course. Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2, 5808-5812.

Mohd, N., Mahmood, T. F. P. T., & Ismail, M. N. (2011). Factors that influence students in mathematics achievement. International Journal of Academic Research, 3(3), 49-54.

Bramlett, D. C. and Herron, S. (2009). A study of African-American College students' attitude towards mathematics. Journal of Mathematical Sciences & Mathematics Education, 4 (2), 43-51

Nicolaidou, M. & Philippou, G. (2003). Attitudes towards mathematics, self-efficacy and achievement in problem solving. European Research in Mathematics III.

Meelissen, M. & Luyten, H. (2008). The dutch gender gap in mathematics: Small for achievement, substantial for beliefs and attitudes. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 34, 82-93.

Delbridge, A., Bernard, J. R. L., Blair, D., & Ramson, W. S. (Eds.). (1987). The Macquarie dictionary. Sydney: The Macquarie Library.

Deci, E. L. (1992). The relation of interest to the motivation of behavior: A self determination theory perspective. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 43-70). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hunter, J. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). The positive psychology of Interested adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(1), 27-35.

Schiefele, U. (1991). Interest, learning, and motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26(3 &4), 299-323.

Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 111-127.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.

Schiefele, U., Krapp, A., & Winteler, A. (1992). Interest as a predictor of academic achievement: A meta-analysis of research. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 183-212). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Köller, O., Baumert, J., & Schnabel, K. (2001). Does interest matter? The Relationship between academic interest and achievement in mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 32(5), 448-470.

Alexander, P. A. (2003). The development of expertise: The journey from acclimation to proficiency. Educational Researcher, 32(8), 10-14.

Silvia, P. J. (2001). Interest and interests: The psychology of constructive capriciousness. Review of General Psychology, 5(3), 270-290.

Freedman, M. (1993). The kindness of strangers: Adult mentors, urban youth, and the new voluntarism. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Floyd, N. (1993). Mentoring. Education Consumer Guide, October (7), 1-4, 1993.

Rhodes, J.E et al, (2000). Agents of Change: Pathways through Which Mentoring Relationships Influence Adolescents’ Academic Adjustment. Child Development, 71, 1662–167.

McLean, K.T (1998). Mentoring Makes a Difference: Findings from The Commonwealth Fund 1998 Survey of Adults Mentoring Young People. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org.,1998.

Tierney, J.P. et al (1995). Making a difference: An impact study of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.

Sipe, C.L. (1999). “Mentoring Adolescents: What Have We Learned?†In J.B. Grossman (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Mentoring. Philadelphia, PA: Public/Private Ventures.

Allen, T.D and Eby, L.T (2007). Definition and Evolution of Mentoring.†In The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring: A Multiple Perspectives Approach, pp. 7–20. Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons.

Gandara, P. (1998). Capturing Latino Students in the Academic Pipeline, Berkeley, CA: Chicano/Latino Policy Project.

Funk, E. and Ek, N. (2002). Mentoring Youth in Brandon: Successes, Challenges, and Best Practices. Retrieved on January 24, 2011 fromhttp://www2.brandonu.ca/organizations/rdi /Publications Health /Mentoring Working Paper.pdf.

DuBois, D. L. et al (2002). Effectiveness of Mentoring programs for youth: A Meta-Analytical Review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 157–197.

Gandara, P. and Mejorado, M. (2005). Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Mentoring as a Strategy to Increase Access to Higher Education.†In W.G. Tierney, Z.B. Corwin, and J.ED. Colyar (Eds.) Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach, pp. 89–110. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Stanton-Salazar, R. (2001). Manufacturing Hope and Despair: The School and Kin Support Networks of U.S.-Mexican Youth. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Flaxman, E. (1992). Evaluating mentoring program, Institute for Urban &Minority Education Briefs, June (1),1-4.

Mecartney,C.A.,Styles, M.B. and Morrow, K.V. (1994). Mentoring in the juvenile justice system: Findings from two pilot programs. Philadelphia: Public Private Ventures.

Schneider, S. (1995). Young leaders mentoring troubled children. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 3, 31-39.

Slicker, E. K. and Palmer, D.J (1993). Mentoring At-Risk High School Students: Evaluation of a School-Based Program, School Counselor, 40, 327–334.

Torrance, E.P. (1984). Mentor relationships: How they aid creative achievement, endure, change and die. Buffalo, NY: Beady Limited.

McPartland, J.M. and Nettles, S.M. (1991). Using community adults as advocates or entors for at-risk middle school students: A two-year evaluation of Project RAISE. American Journal of Education, 99 (4), 568-586, 1991.

Ihedioha, S.A. and Osu, B.O. (2012) “The Opinion of the Academic Staff on the Effect of Mentoring on Students’ General Development in Government Comprehensive Secondary School Bwari, Abuja Nigeriaâ€. The International Journal of Engineering and Science, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 143-150, 2012. www.theijes.com

Ihedioha, S.A. and Lawal, A.B. (2013). “Analysis of Students Opinion on the Impact of Mentoring Exercise on Students’ General Development in Nigeria: Case Study - Government Comprehensive Secondary School Bwari, Abuja Nigeriaâ€. Inventi Impact: Algorithm, 2013(1):6-11.

Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling . New York: Guildford.

Downloads

Published

2014-03-08

How to Cite

Ihedioha, S. A. (2014). Analysis of the Inventories on the Impact of Mentoring Students’ Attitude and Interest in Mathematics. Asian Journal of Education and E-Learning, 2(1). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJEEL/article/view/934

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2014): February 2014

Section

Articles

License

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.