Mathematics Essay

Aline Zghayyar

Review of Literature

There is an increasing recognition that affective factors play a critical role in the teaching and learning of mathematics. A number of researchers have investigated the relationship between the affective and the cognitive domains. Maker (1982) emphasized the importance of this relationship:

It is impossible to separate the cognitive from the affective domains in any activity….The most important is that there is a cognitive component to every affective object and an affective component to every cognitive objective. (p.30-31).

In general, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions are the major descriptors of the affective domain in mathematics education (McLeod, 1992), whereas knowledge and thinking are considered descriptors of the content and process of the human mind (Brown &Borko, 1992). Rather than attempt to explore all the components in the affective domains as they relate to the cognitive domain, mathematics educators have traditionally taken the relationship between attitude toward mathematics (ATM) and achievement in mathematics as their major concern.

Although there seems to be common agreement among researchers that an individual’s disposition towards mathematics is a key factor in influencing mathematics achievement, there is some uncertainty as to the nature of this relationship. Researchers also differ concerning the factors involved and methods of measuring and accounting for these factors. Such factors include gender, attitude, ability, prior achievement, enabling skills and environmental setting (Hemmings, 2009). In fact, Helmke (1989) stated:

The state of research concerning the impact of affective variables on academic achievement is characterized by confusion: positions vary from t...

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...students’ achievement (Farrington, 2012). Likewise, the National Science Foundation (NSF, 1993) further explained in Science & Engineering Indicators that

Student attitudes toward mathematics— and their understanding of the relevance of the subject to their future aspirations—affect students' enthusiasm for studying math, and help determine whether they will continue on to more advanced studies in these fields.

Although there is some uncertainty as to the nature and order of the relationship between mathematics attitudes and achievement, it is clear that non-cognitive and affective skills, such as attitudes influence students’ attainment of the subject. Consequently, the present will focus on clarifying the relationship by asking students to not only discover their attitudes towards mathematics level, but to also reflect on them and their mathematics achievement.