Comparative study of middle school students’ attitudes towards science: Rasch analysis of entire TIMSS 2011 attitudinal data for England, Singapore and the U.S.A. as well as psychometric properties of attitudes scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 268-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oon Pey Tee ◽  
R. Subramaniam
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Cennet GÖLOĞLU DEMİR ◽  
Nagihan TANIK ÖNAL ◽  
Nezih ÖNAL

The purpose of the current study is to investigate middle school students’ attitudes towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and to determine the predictors of these attitudes. The study was designed according to the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research designs. The sample of the study is comprised of 408 middle school sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The data of the current study were collected by using a STEM-oriented attitude scale. In order to analyse the collected data, independent samples t-test, one-way variance analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used. As a result of these analyses, it was determined that the students’ attitudes towards STEM vary significantly depending on the students’ gender, grade level, participation in in-school and out-of-school social activities, science and mathematics achievement. The most effective three predictors of STEM were found to be science achievement, being a 6th grader and being female. The state of being female was found to be negatively correlated with the prediction of the attitudes towards STEM. As a conclusion of the study, suggestions were made to eliminate gender-based differences in the attitudes towards STEM, to increase STEM activities in upper grades and for career planning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Nezih Onal ◽  
Cennet Gologlu Demir

It is a great paradox that despite the great importance attached to mathematics education in Turkey, high failure rates are observed among Turkish students in mathematics. For this reason, new applications are implemented in the field of mathematics education in Turkey. One of these applications is the use of technology in mathematics education. Thus, this research aimed to determine the attitudes and opinions of the middle school students towards the use of the interactive whiteboard, which is among the technologies used in mathematics and mathematics lessons. The research is based on a mixed-method research design in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The quantitative part of the study was conducted with 726 students, selected via the convenience sampling method, in 4 different central schools affiliated to the Ministry of Education (MNE) in the Karabük province during the 2015-2016 academic year, while the qualitative part was carried out with 20 participants determined on a voluntary basis. The research data were obtained from the “Attitude Scale towards Mathematics”, the “Interactive Whiteboard Attitude Scale” and the semi-structured interviews. It was found that the participants in the survey had a positive attitude towards the use of the interactive whiteboard in mathematics lessons and that they were positively affected by the interactive whiteboard in learning mathematics. In addition, it was concluded that participants' attitudes towards mathematics and the use of the interactive whiteboard was above average. It was also found that the male students’ attitudes towards the interactive whiteboard were more positive than that of the female students, and the level of positive attitude towards mathematics decreases as the class level increases accordingly. Finally, a low positive correlation was found between students' attitudes towards mathematics and the interactive whiteboard.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myint Swe Khine ◽  
Ernest Afari

Abstract: This study explored the reliability and validity of the inventory that measures attitudes toward mathematics among middle school students. The original version of Attitudes toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) was adapted and translated into Arabic language and administered to middle school students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The data were analysed to establish the reliability and construct validity as well as the factor structure of the instrument. Our results showed that four factor model was the best fit using confirmatory factor analysis. The findings from this study indicated that the translated version of the inventory can be effectively used in Arabic speaking countries. Propiedades psicométricas de un inventario para determinar los factores que afectan a las actitudes de los estudiantes hacia las matemáticas Resumen: El presente artículo analiza la fiabilidad y validez del inventario que mide las actitudes hacia las matemáticas entre los estudiantes de secundaria. La versión original de las actitudes hacia la Matemática Inventory (ATMI) fue adaptado y traducido al árabe y se administró a los estudiantes de secundaria en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos. Los datos se analizaron para establecer la fiabilidad y validez de constructo, así como el factor de estructura del instrumento. Nuestros resultados muestran que el modelo de cuatro factores fue el mejor ajuste en el análisis factorial confirmatorio. Los resultados de este estudio indican que la versión traducida del inventario puede ser utilizado con eficacia en países de habla árabe.


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