Alenka Brezavšček (Author), Janja Jerebic (Author), Gregor Rus (Author), Anja Žnidaršič (Author)

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate the main factors influencing the mathematics achievement of social sciences university students in Slovenia. A conceptual model was derived where three categories of variables were taken into account: attitude towards mathematics and math anxiety, engagement in learning activities, and attitude towards involving technology in learning mathematics. Data were collected for seven consecutive academic years and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results showed a very high coefficient of determination for mathematics achievement (0.801), indicating that variables “Perceived Level of Math Anxiety”, “Self-Engagement in Mathematics Course at University”, and “Perceived Usefulness of Technology in Learning Mathematics”, together, explain 80.1% of the total variance. Based on our findings, we can conclude that teaching in secondary school is a crucial determinant for success in mathematics at university. It is essential to identify the best methods for secondary school math teachers which will help them give future students better entry-level knowledge for universities. These methods will, hopefully, also improve the level of mathematics self-confidence, as well as lower the level of math anxiety, which all considerably affect the performance of students in university mathematics.

Keywords

matematično izobraževanje;dobre prakse pri matematičnem izobraževanju;vplivni dejavniki;družbene vede;mathematical education;good practices in mathematics education;influencing factors;social sciences;

Data

Language: English
Year of publishing:
Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization: UM FOV - Faculty of Organizational Sciences
Publisher: MDPI
UDC: 378
COBISS: 40901891 Link will open in a new window
ISSN: 2227-7390
Views: 0
Downloads: 1
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Other data

Secondary language: Slovenian
Secondary keywords: matematično izobraževanje;dobre prakse pri matematičnem izobraževanju;matematični dosežki;izobraževanje;dejavniki vpliva;univerza;družbene vede;modeliranje strukturnih enačb;
Type (COBISS): Scientific work
Pages: Str. 1-24
Volume: ǂVol. ǂ8
Issue: ǂno. ǂ12 (2134)
Chronology: 2020
DOI: 10.3390/math8122134
ID: 25690977
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