scholarly journals Investigating the associations of early numeracy activities and skills with mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement among fourth graders in the United Arab Emirates

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha Mohamed Abdulla Balala ◽  
Shaljan Areepattamannil ◽  
Dean Cairns
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Early Numeracy ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Mathematics And Science

AbstractThe present study aimed to examine the relations of early numeracy activities and skills to mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement among 26,859 fourth graders in the United Arab Emirates who took part in the sixth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2015. The study also explored the mediating effects of mathematics dispositions and engagement on the relations between early numeracy activities and skills and mathematics achievement among these fourth graders. Results of path analyses, after controlling for participants’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, indicated that early numeracy activities and skills were significantly and positively related to mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement. Further, results of mediational analyses suggested that confidence in mathematics had a significant mediating effect on the relations between early numeracy activities and skills and mathematics achievement. The findings of the study highlight the crucial role that early numeracy activities and skills play in enhancing fourth graders’ mathematics dispositions, engagement, and achievement in the United Arab Emirates.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and gendered math teaching in Kuwait

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatimah Ahmad ◽  
Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Math Education ◽  
Math Performance ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
Math Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Mathematics And Science

This paper argues for a more complex literature around gender and math performance. In order to argue for this complexity, we present a small portion of data from a case study examining the performance of Kuwaiti students on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and on Kuwait national math tests. Westernized discourses suggest that girls have a harder time in math classes; these discourses frame and are reified by prominent literature and practices within the field of math education research that suggest that women and girls need help in order to reach their potential in math. These Westernized discourses stand in contrast to the discourses in Kuwait that normalize women and girls as outperforming boys in all subjects – including all science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. As our study shows, the reality is more complex. And, while the reality is more complex, we yet lack the discourses to understand this complexity.

Comprehension of Mathematical Relationships Expressed in Graphs

1987 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 382-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances R. Curcio
Keyword(s):  
Reading Achievement ◽  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Graphical Form ◽  
Seventh Graders ◽  
Mathematical Content ◽  
Graph Comprehension ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Mathematical Relationships

In this study, the schema-theoretic perspective of understanding general discourse was extended to include graph comprehension. Fourth graders (n=204) and seventh graders (n=185) were given a prior-knowledge inventory, a graph test, and the SRA Reading and Mathematics Achievement Tests during four testing sessions. The unique predictors of graph comprehension for Grade 4 included reading achievement, mathematics achievement, and prior knowledge of the topic, mathematical content, and form of the graph. The unique predictors for Grade 7 were the same except that prior knowledge of topic and graphical form were not included. The results suggest that children should be involved in graphing activities to build and expand relevant schemata needed for comprehension.

The Decimal Dilemma

2000 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Robert Glasgow ◽  
Gay Ragan ◽  
Wanda M. Fields ◽  
Robert Reys ◽  
Deanna Wasman
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Twelfth Graders ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Media ◽  
Rich Information ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Mathematics And Science

If you are aware of the results given in the media reports about the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), you probably know that fourth graders from the United States (U.S.) scored above the international average in mathematics and that eighth and twelfth graders scored below average (Mullis et al. 1997). As an educator, you are aware of the dangers of looking only at averages of test scores. Rich information can be gleaned from the TIMSS data that will help us learn more about what our students know and are able to do. The data from a large-scale study, such as the TIMSS, often raise questions about what the numbers really mean. This article addresses one such question that arose from examining part of the third- and fourth-grade TIMSS data. The process that we used may be as valuable as the information that we found. Perhaps this process will help you answer questions that arise as you reflect on the TIMSS results.

Personal and Family Factors as Predictors of Pupils' Mathematics Achievement

2007 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bader O. Alomar
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Fourth Graders ◽  
Mathematical Achievement ◽  
Family Factors ◽  
Personal Variables ◽  
Direct Association ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Family Variables

This study examined personal and family factors in prediction of mathematics achievement by Kuwaiti fourth graders (395 boys, 501 girls; M age= 10.0 yr., SD=8.0 mo.). Personal variables included sex, total achievement, perception of parental involvement, pupil's attitude towards school, and mathematics achievement. Family variables included parental education and parental involvement, views of school, and income. The data had good fit with the suggested model. Analysis showed variables which had significant direct association with mathematics achievement were total achievement and sex. Parental education, pupil's sex, and attitude towards school had significant indirect associations with mathematical achievement. Associations were direct for boys and indirect for girls on mathematics achievement, so sex had minimal total effects on mathematics achievement.

Measurement in the Middle Grades: Insights from NAEP and TIMSS

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 514-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony D. Thompson ◽  
Ronald V. Preston
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Science Study ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
The Third ◽  
Learning Mathematics ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Mathematics And Science

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have provided a wealth of data on the mathematics education of U.S. students. (TIMSS has been renamed “Trends in Mathematics and Science Study” and will continue to be known as TIMSS in future assessments.) TIMSS was administered in 1995 and repeated in 1999 and included grades 4, 8, and the end of secondary school. NAEP began in 1969 and regularly reports on the knowledge and skills of U.S. students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades in a variety of subject areas. In addition to studying mathematics achievement, both NAEP and TIMSS collect data on the contexts for learning mathematics, such as teacher and school characteristics, instructional practices, and curriculum.

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