Original scientific paper

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ MATHEMATICS ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS

Nina Pavlin-Bernardić orcid.org/0000-0002-8194-5668 ; Odsjek za psihologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu
Vesna Vlahović-Štetić ; Odsjek za psihologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu
Irena Mišurac Zorica ; Odsjek za učiteljski studij Filozofskog fakulteta u Splitu

Abstract

According to Bandura’s Social learning theory, it is assumed
that teachers are models for students’ attitudes and beliefs related to educational contents. The aim of this study was to examine mathematics attitudes and beliefs of junior class teachers and math teachers, as well as university students who will be junior class and math teachers. The participants were 79 university students and 78 teachers. Students were fourth year teacher education students from Split (N = 45) and math students from Zagreb (N = 34) and teachers were junior class teachers (N = 41) and math teachers (N = 37) from two elementary schools in Zagreb. All participants completed Mathematics attitudes and beliefs scale, while students also
completed Mathematics anxiety scale. The results show that participants generally have positive attitudes toward math. Teachers have more positive attitudes towards math than university students. Teacher education students have less positive attitudes towards math than other groups of participants. Belief that math is more male than female domain was expressed very mildly and there were no differences between different groups of participants in this respect. Belief that mathematics abilities are inborn was also expressed very mildly, and there were no differences between different groups. Teacher education students, as we expected, are more afraid of math than math students.

Keywords

math attitudes; math anxiety; students; math teachers

Hrčak ID:

68280

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/68280

Publication date:

15.12.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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