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

262

Attributing failure in mathematics learning to lack of ability predicted the mathematics
self-concept of 8^th graders perceiving their mathematics learning as failing.

Perceived competition in class positively predicted the mathematics self-concept of
pupils perceiving their mathematics learning as successful. Perceived difficulty in
mathematics learning negatively predicted mathematics self-concept of 8^th graders, but
not 5^th graders. Perceived cohesiveness in mathematics classes negatively predicted
mathematics self-concept of 8^th graders perceiving their mathematics learning as
successful.

The effects of pupils’ perceptions of teachers’ praise on their mathematics self-concept
was evident for 5^th graders perceiving their mathematics learning as failing and 8^th
graders perceiving their mathematics learning as successful, but the effect was small.

Factors predicting teachers’ attempts to positively enhance their pupils’
mathematics self-concept

The factors predicting teachers’ attempts to enhance their pupils’ mathematics self-
concepts were explored by means of a stepwise multiple regression. The analysis was
conducted for teachers of each age group separately. The factors included in the
stepwise multiple regression were: the extent to which teachers attempted to enhance
pupils’ general self-concept; their perceptions of classroom ethos; their reported
adoption of different kinds of praise; the perceived frequency of the deployment of
different teaching methods; and their perceptions of the extent to which affective
attitudes were promoted by different teaching methods. As the majority of teachers
attributed mathematics performance to their pupils’ effort, this factor was not included in
the multiple regression, as it would not have the power to differentiate.

262

<<   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   >>

More intriguing information