Students' views on mathematics in single-sex and coed classrooms in Ghana
Journal Title: European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Year 2016, Vol 4, Issue 2
Abstract
In this study, we investigated students’ views on themselves as learners of mathematics as a function of school?by?sex (N = 2034, MAge = 18.49, SDAge = 1.25; 12th?grade; 58.2% girls). Using latent variable Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the measurement and structural equivalence as well as the equality of latent means of scores across single?sex and coed schools were tested. Findings regarding the latent mean differences revealed that girls in single?sex schools had significantly higher mathematics self?confidence than did students’ in coed schools. Girls in coed schools had significantly lower mathematics self?concepts than did boys in single?sex, girls in single?sex and boys in coed schools. Girls in single?sex schools had significantly higher family encouragement than students’ in all other school types. Moreover, a more complex dynamics were found on the teacher quality variate. This paper argues for a deeper understanding of sex?school interaction and of possible causes of students’ views on mathematics.
Authors and Affiliations
Emmanuel Adu‐tutu Bofah| Department of Teacher Education, Unversity of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland For correspondence : emmanuel.bofah@helsinki.fi, Markku S Hannula| Department of Teacher Education, Unversity of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP8100
- DOI -
- Views 393
- Downloads 28
Variables predicting prospective biology teachers’ acceptance perceptions regarding gene technology
The different opinions on products and applications of gene technology (GT) draw attention to the training and education activities related to GT. The purpose of this study is to review some variables predicting the acce...
Teaching of geometry in Bulgaria
Geometry plays an important role in the school mathematics curriculum all around the world. Teaching of geometry varies a lot (Hoyls, Foxman, & Kuchemann, 2001). Many countries revise the objectives, the content, and the...
Integrating ICTs into the environmental science primary school classroom in Chegutu district, Zimbabwe: problems and solutions
This study investigated primary school teachers’ perceptions of the barriers and challenges preventing them from integrating ICTs in the environmental science classroom. The study adopted a qualitative research approach...
Definitions are important: the case of linear algebra
In this paper we describe an experiment in a linear algebra course. The aim of the experiment was to promote the students' understanding of the studied concepts focusing on their definitions. It seems to be a given that...
Malaysian students’ motivation towards Physics learning
The purpose of this survey study was to examine the level of Malaysian students’ motivation with regards to the learning of Physics at the secondary school level, and its influencing factors. The study was carried out on...