Review of Related Literature and Studies
Review of Related Literature and Studies
Review of Related Literature and Studies
According to the latest Gallup youth survey conducted in 2004 (as cited by Saad,
2005), the subject that the teenagers find most difficult in school is mathematics. Thus,
Saad(2005) said that it is not surprising how the subject has the lowest performance rate.
The reasons were not mentioned, however, Stites (1993) said that people have the
tendency to blame the educators of the poor performance of the students in math.
Nevertheless, Temple professor and mathematician John Allen Paulos (as cited in Stites,
1993) directed these problems to a number of factors. Paulos (as cited in Stites, 1993)
attributed this problem to the educational system that "emphasizes practice without
incorporating the concept." In addition to this, he mentioned that this is also partly
because of the mentality that math is not for everyone. According to Paulos (as cited in
Stites, 1993), people think that math is only for a selected few or the left-brained ones.
However, Paulos (as cited in Stites, 1993) disagreed with this as everyone has the ability
to do mathematics and problem solving as long as they know the basics. Another problem
pointed out by Paulos (as cited in Stites, 1993), is the hierarchical way math is taught
where teachers teach algebra and geometry instead of more applicable ones such as
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probability and statistics for their students to have a high percentage in passing
standardized exams.
Fullarton (1993) as cited in Cabahug and Ladot (2005), stated that poor attitude
towards mathematics is often being said as one of the contributing factors to lower
participation and less success in the courses. Neale(1969) still cited in Cabahug and
Ladot (2005), said that the attitude towards mathematics affects performance as
performance in turn affects attitudes.
Furthermore, Cabahug and Ladot(2005) said that for students who were required
to take math 11, their only significant factor is the attitude of students towards the
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subject. The results of their study also showed that for students enrolled in degree
programs requiring Math 17 in addition to UPCAT mathematical ability and attitude
towards mathematics, the type of school is also a significant factor. Davidson and
Levitov (1993), on the other hand, point these difficulties to the condition that fears
mathematics.
Overstreet (1951), believed that fear is the most deceitful emotional force that has
the greatest impact on our behavior. He said that fear "makes us do what we ought not to
do and leave undone what we ought to do." The author stated reasons on why the "fear-
problem" remains unsolved despite its length of occurrence in human history. Part of this,
Overstreet (1951) mentioned, is our lack of ability to recognize fear as it is. He added that
fear disguises itself in a wide range of emotions which are, more often than not, an
opposite of fear such that of courage, ambition, humility, sacrifices or loyalty.
Since fear of mathematics happens only at moments when a person has to answer
mathematical problems, Smith (1997) referred the condition as math anxiety. He defined
it as a condition when a person feels helpless and frustrated in doing mathematics. He
stated that not only “normal people” are prone to math anxiety but even those who are
well-acquainted with math. Aside from other biological reasons such as mental
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retardation, the author mentioned that the causes of math anxiety can also be pointed
towards the social context and learning strategies. Smith (1997) explained that labelling
math enthusiasts as “geeks or nerds” causes a destroyed image of math in the society.
This concept of math as only for “certain people,” he stated, provides a reason for the
students for not being able to do math. Smith added that the strategies practiced by the
educators which he called as “learning-by-rote (memorization and repetition)” is “dull
and unrewarding” making the students loathe the subject even more.
Davidson and Levitov (1993) also considered that bad experiences regarding math
may also lead to math anxiety. The shame when one can’t answer math problems, the
teacher’s frustration when students can’t understand what they teach and unsupportive
parents are some examples of bad experiences with math that were stated by the authors.
Additions to those above are childhood experiences (change of schools, divorced parents
and bullying), unmatched teaching and learning styles and society’s beliefs that math is
for men and not for women.
In another study, the researchers Bilbase and Shashidar (2010) in a study entitled
“Images, Anxieties and Attitudes Toward Mathematics” said that there could be various
reasons for fear of the subject mathematics. ’Strawderman, (as cited in Bilbase and
Shashidar, 2010) proposed three domains to study mathematics anxiety:
social/motivational domain, intellectual/educational domain, and
psychological/emotional domain. Bilbase and Shashidar (2010) clarified that the
social/motivational domain includes those forces that act upon a person through the
agencies of family, friends, and society as a whole. The authors described that the
intellectual/ educational domain is comprised of those influences that are cognitive in
nature. According to them, these cognitive influences include but are not limited to, the
knowledge and skills an individual has and or is expected to acquire and his or her
perception of success or failure in them. The authors explained that the
psychological/emotional domain is formed by the faculties that are affective in nature.
They continued that it is largely comprised of the individual’s emotional history,
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reactions to stimuli, and arousal states. Hence, the researchers said that the continuum
associated with this domain is feelings wherein at either end of the feelings continuum lie
anxiety and confidence.
Bilbase and Shashidar (2010) continued that the images in the classrooms and the
means of teaching may have a significant impact on shaping the attitude towards
mathematics. They proposed that another thing that may affect a child’s perception of
mathematics is the attitude of the parents toward the subject. They said that most likely,
parents that show negativity towards mathematics will give the child a negative attitude
of it - this shows how much parental encouragement is important in a child’s learning.
They also added that anxieties and attitudes play significant role in learning mathematics.
Prakash(2011) continued that interest might not be the same for everybody. He
said that our interests are governed by our drives, motives and emotions, but mostly our
instincts. An example he offered was the instinctive interest of teenagers in clothes or
appearance may be due to their drive to attract members of the opposite sex.
received is interesting or not. She further said that there are unique aspects not present
when processing uninteresting information.
The foregoing studies which were reviewed by the researcher gave basic insights
and ideas in organizing this research proposal.
In March 24, 2015, Capate, and Lapinid conducted a study assessing the
Mathematics performance of grade 8 students as basis for enhancing instruction and
aligning with K to 12 Curriculum. Based on the findings of their study, the results of the
formative tests and the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) showed that students’
achievement is in the Beginning and in the Developing level for the three content areas of
the Grade 8 Mathematics curriculum. These imply that they struggle with their
understanding or possess only the minimum knowledge and skills and core
understandings; pre-requisite and fundamental knowledge and/or skills have not been
acquired or developed adequately to aid understanding.
The conducted study relates about the responds of the students in their
mathematics performance. In the conducted study, the behavioral effect to the students
were determined, while in this study, specific responds will be measure that will be based
on their mathematics learning performance.
The study of Mohktar, Yusof and Misiran about factors affecting students’
performance in mathematics, emphasizes the causes of the student’s failure and progress
in Mathematics. The study is related to the present investigation since, the problem that
was conducted is one of the objectives of this study, in where, the researcher will
determine some factors affecting student’s learning mathematical performance.
The study was carried out to explore the factors influencing students’
performance in Business Mathematics course at UiTM Kedah. Results suggest that all
the items were retained and were categorized under four different categories which
are Attitude, Role of teacher, Peers and Interest. The first factor (Attitude) comprised of
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eighteen items and six items were categorized under Factor 2 (Role of Teacher). As in
Factor 3 (Peers), seven items were included. These items 7, 13, 15 and 29 were
categorized under Factor 4 (Interest).
Hence, they concluded, that the study was carried out to explore the factors
influencing College of Education students’ performance in mathematics. It was
concluded based on the findings that; factors such as , lecture method of instruction
which turns the learner into passive participants in the learning process as while as
inadequate teaching and learning material affect students’ performance in mathematics.
According to the study, aside from test anxiety scales, measurement instruments
assessing students’ achievement emotions are largely lacking. This article reports on the
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The study involved one semester’s worth of data (258 students in 15 classes). The
study was a strong quasi-experimental design with random assignment and the results
were based on pre- and post-test score differences. The study involved one urban school
district, Fairbanks, and four rural school districts with approximately a 97% Yup’ik
population. The study showed that the difference in test results between all treatment
groups and all control groups was significant beyond the accepted standard of p.
Although the urban treatment group gained the most from this curriculum, the most
important finding is that the rural treatment group outperformed the rural control group at
a significant level beyond the accepted standard of p. The study is encouraging, as it
shows that the treatment effect on Yup’ik students narrows the long-standing academic
gap when comparing that group’s and the Yup’ik control group’s relative performance
against the urban control group. Further studies are necessary to determine if the results
can be replicated, if the results are tied to a specific topic area, and if a study that uses
complementary research methods can unpack the factors behind the gain.