Equal Opportunities in Learning in Diverse Groups in Nepal in the Pre-COVID Realm: Socioeconomic Status, Mathematics Learning, and the Diverse Groups

The article discusses the diversity and equity issues behind the learning outcomes of mathematics in the pre-COVID context in Nepal. The article intends to give a baseline for the further studies on the effect of COVID-19 pandemic in the educational realm. Datasets from the national assessment of student achievement in Nepal at grades 3 and 5 and grade 8 are reanalyzed based on socioeconomic status (SES), gender, caste-ethnicity, language, and geographical variables. In Nepal, where the society is customarily highly structured, gender-biased, and poverty-driven, SES influences remarkably in mathematics achievement. The datasets show notable relationships between SES and mathematics achievement (r = 0.35, 0.27 and 0.30 in grade 3, 5 and 8, respectively). In lower grades, the difference between the highest and lowest SES in the achievement of girls is wider than boys and it is reverse in grade 8. Nepali speakers had high scores when they had high SES but, when SES was very low, the non-Nepali speakers performed better in all grades. The advantageous castes tended to always perform higher irrespective of their level of SES. Nevertheless, it is difficult to know with certainty when average and marginalized caste/ethnic groups perform better.

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An Analysis on the Selected Factors Contributing to Science and Mathematics Achievement Among Secondary Students in Two SEAMEO Member Countries

Jurnal Teknologi ◽

10.11113/jt.v63.2020 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 63 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roger Awang ◽

Lay Yoon Fah

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Secondary Students ◽

Technological Tools ◽

8Th Grade ◽

Timss 2007 ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Additional Support ◽

Better Than ◽

Grade 8 ◽

At Home

This paper sets out to examine critically the effects of selected factors contributing to science and mathematics achievement among 8th grade students in Malaysia and Singapore. The Trend in International Science and Mathematics Study (TIMSS) 2007 database was utilized to explore a) if there were correlations between students receiving additional support and/or gaining exposure from academic related enrichment activities at home and schools with their science and mathematics achievement and, b) How well do the knowledge/skills gained from the use of technological tools and Internet contribute towards their science and mathematics achievement among Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. The sample consists of 4,466 students from Malaysia and 4,599 students from Singapore who participated in the TIMSS 2007 assessment. This study will provide some insights on why some students perform better than others in science and mathematics by highlighting the effect of additional support and/or exposure from academic related enrichment activities at home and schools, and the knowledge/skills gained from the use of technological tools and internet on students’ science and mathematics achievement.

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The Correlation of Selected Nonmathematical Measures with Mathematics Achievement

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education ◽

10.5951/jresematheduc.5.1.0047 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 47-56

Author(s):

W. George Cathcart

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Grade Level ◽

Third Grade ◽

Significant Variable ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Listening Ability ◽

Achievement In Mathematics ◽

Grade 3

Most studies that have investigated achievement in mathematics have found that it is correlated with numerous nonmathematical variables. This study examined the relative contribution of intelligence, conservation, socioeconomic status, age, listening ability, vocabulary level, and sex as correlates of mathematics achievement with second- and third-grade pupils. Listening ability and vocabulary levels were significant variables. Intelligence was a significant variable for Grade 3 but not for Grade 2 pupils. Sex and the ability to conserve were not significant at either grade level.

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Engagement with Mathematics Courseware in Traditional and Online Remedial Learning Environments: Relationship to Self-Efficacy and Achievement

Journal of Educational Computing Research ◽

10.2190/ec.37.3.c ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 267-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Dianna J. Spence ◽

Ellen L. Usher

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Cognitive Theory ◽

Mathematics Learning ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Online Environment ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Computer Self Efficacy ◽

Mathematics Self Efficacy

This research applied Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory to examine engagement with courseware in traditional and online remedial mathematics learning environments. The study investigated the relationship of courseware engagement to age, computer self-efficacy, computer playfulness, and self-efficacy for self-regulated mathematics learning. The study also analyzed mathematics achievement in terms of engagement, age, gender, mathematics grade self-efficacy, and self-efficacy for self regulated mathematics learning. Participants were 88 students in a traditional environment and 76 students in an online environment. The two groups differed significantly in age, mathematics grade self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy, computer playfulness, courseware engagement, and mathematics achievement. When controlled for age, all significant differences found between the two groups persisted. When controlled for mathematics self-efficacy, the groups no longer differed significantly in mathematics achievement, but all other significant differences remained. Computer self-efficacy and computer playfulness each had a significant association with courseware engagement in the online environment, but not in the traditional environment. Regression models revealed that course setting, age, and self-efficacy for self-regulation jointly predicted engagement with courseware. Both mathematics grade self-efficacy and age jointly predicted achievement. These findings support the views that mathematics self-efficacy is among the most significant predictors of mathematics achievement; computer self-efficacy and computer playfulness are associated with courseware engagement; and self-regulation is an important component of e-learning. Implications for researchers and educators are discussed.

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Primary School Age Students' Spontaneous Comments about Math Reveal Emerging Dispositions Linked to Later Mathematics Achievement

Child Development Research ◽

10.1155/2012/170310 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Michèle M. M. Mazzocco ◽

Laurie B. Hanich ◽

Maia M. Noeder

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Learning Disability ◽

Math Achievement ◽

Mathematics Learning ◽

School Age ◽

Math Ability ◽

Achievement Outcomes ◽

Grade 3 ◽

Primary School Age

To longitudinally explore children's developing beliefs towards mathematics, we asked 207 children to define “math” and “reading” at grades 2 and 3 and coded for spontaneous references to likability or difficulty of math (or reading) in their definitions. We found that children attributed more difficulty to math than to reading despite their relatively neutral comments on the likability of either subject. Children described math and reading with comparable degrees of specificity, but girls' definitions were more specific than boys'. Relative to their peers, children with mathematics learning disability (MLD) provided less specific definitions overall, were more likely to describe math as more difficult than reading, and were more likely to show a decrease in likability ratings of math (but not reading) from grades 2 to 3. Grade 2 ratings predicted math ability at grade 3, more so than predictors from grade 3. These findings, although based on informal analyses not intended to substitute for validated assessments of disposition, support the notions that distinct aspects of dispositions towards math emerge in early childhood, are revealed through casual discourse, and are predictive of later math achievement outcomes. This further supports current interests in developing formal measures of academic disposition in early childhood.

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How gender and socioeconomic status affect reading and mathematics achievement

Economics of Education Review ◽

10.1016/0272-7757(91)90024-j ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 343-357 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Byron W. Brown

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Mathematics Achievement ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Reading And Mathematics

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Mathematics Makes you Feel Attractive. Empowering New Alternative Masculinities in the Context of Mathematics Classrooms

Masculinities & Social Change ◽

10.17583/mcs.2020.4698 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 53

Author(s):

Javier Diez-Palomar ◽

Liviu Catalin Mara

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Identity Construction ◽

Mathematics Learning ◽

Social Attraction ◽

Mathematics Classrooms ◽

The Social ◽

Alternative Masculinities ◽

And Mathematics ◽

The Relationship ◽

Specific Identity

This article studies the relationship between masculinity construction in school and mathematics learning in boys. In this article, we introduce the variables of social interaction and the differentiation between the language of ethics and the language of desire to analyze the aspects related to mathematics learning in schoolboys. The methodology used is a literature review, paying particular attention to the techniques used in the literature and using categorization that emerged during the review to select and analyze the texts. We found several issues that seem to condition mathematics learning in boys that have to do with gender and specific identity construction, namely the dominant traditional masculinities. Moreover, this process is enhanced by the social attraction towards violence processes. However, the literature also contains elements that respond to a different model of masculinity that can be successful in mathematics learning and attractive at the same time, which is related to the New Alternative Masculinities model. We conclude with some recommendations to support this new and attractive model and to rethink research in mathematics achievement in children in the future.

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