Success Indicators of Mathematical Problem-Solving Performance Among Malaysian Matriculation Students

This study identifies the success indicators of mathematical problem-solving performances among Malaysian matriculation students divided into four indicators: mathematical beliefs, mathematics attitudes, mathematics self-efficacy and metacognitive skills. For this purpose, 368 matriculation students from three matriculation colleges were selected as respondents using proportioned stratified sampling. This study utilized a descriptive correlational design approach. A set of questionnaires and a mathematics test were used as the instruments. Independent variables were measured using a questionnaire, while mathematical problem-solving performance was measured using a mathematics test. The findings show students had a high level in mathematics beliefs, attitude towards mathematics, mathematics self-efficacy and metacognitive skills. Statistical tests to determine success indicators predicting mathematical problem-solving performance revealed that mathematics self-efficacy does not contribute significantly to these variables and that metacognitive skills make the most decisive contribution, followed by mathematics attitude and mathematics beliefs. Hence, this study suggests that problem-solving should be included as an essential part of the mathematics matriculation syllabus to enable students to improve their problem-solving abilities.

Grade Eleven Students' Mathematics Beliefs about Contexts Support in West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

Students’ beliefs in mathematics education play an important role in students’ mathematics learning and achievement. Therefore, investigating students’ mathematics beliefs about context supports are essential in educational research. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to investigate students’ mathematics beliefs about context support such as family context, social context, and school and classroom context about mathematics learning. To addressi this purpose, mixed-methods approach using a quantitative investigation followed by a qualitative investigation were employed. The participants were 545 students selected from four schools in West Arsi Zone using multistage sampling. The quantitative data obtained were analysed using percentage, mean, independent samples t-test, and ANOVA. The major findings were the students’ beliefs about contexts support and its components such as students’ beliefs about fathers’, mothers’, siblings’, peers’, teachers’, textbooks’ and schools’ support in learning mathematics denoted as medium level, which is neither positive nor negative. Regarding students’ beliefs about contexts support and its components, there were no significant differences with respect to gender; but there were significant differences with respect to achiever levels. In addition, there were significant differences between students’ beliefs about mothers’, fathers’, and peers’ support in learning mathematics in favor of students with parents are in urban; but no significant for others.