5th and 8th grade pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relationships between teaching methods, classroom ethos, and positive affective attitudes towards learning mathematics in Japan

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CHAPTER 5: COMPARISON OF TEACHERS’ AND PUPILS’ PERCEPTIONS
OF THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO PUPILS’ AFFECTIVE ATTITUDES
TOWARDS MATHEMATICS LEARNING PROMOBTED BY DIFFERENT
TEACHING METHODS

This chapter compares teachers’ and pupils’ perceptions of the factors contributing to
pupils' affective attitudes towards mathematics learning promoted by different teaching
methods in mathematics classes. Open questions were included in the questionnaires
for teachers of both age groups and for 8^th graders. Such questions were not included in
the questionnaire for 5^th graders because of their difficulty in expressing themselves
clearly in writing, as explained in Chapter 3. The same questions were adopted for
teachers of both age groups and 8^th graders. The questions were as follows:

1. Why do you think particular teaching methods promote pupils’ enjoyment in learning
mathematics?

2. Why do you think particular teaching methods promote pupils’ motivation to learn
mathematics?

3. Why do you think particular teaching methods promote pupils’ sense of security in
learning mathematics?

4. Why do you think particular teaching methods promote pupils’ sense of progress in
learning mathematics?

Forty-eight 5^th grade teachers, forty-two 8^th grade teachers and 2156 8^th graders took
part in the questionnaire survey. The responses of all teachers’ open questions were
analysed. Approximately 470 8^th graders’ responses to the open questions were
randomly selected and analysed, because it was impractical to analyse all of them. The
responses were analysed using, Cooper et al.’s (1993) seven-stage process.

1. to read a random sample of transcripts;

2. to identify the points of similarity and difference among these transcripts in relation to
the research questions;

3. to generate theories, on the basis of the second stage and describe emergent
answers to research questions;

4. to test these theories against a new set of transcripts;

5. to test the new theories against transcripts already dealt with;

6. to carry all existing theories forward to new transcripts;

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