Search Results (16)

Cultural beliefs about what it means to be “good” at mathematics profoundly impact students’ perceptions of their abilities and how they come to see themselves in STEM. These beliefs can be traced back to dominant societal discourses about mathematical aptitude and achievement. These dominant discourses are communicated to students in a myriad of ways through family, friends, media, and overall societal norms. They reify deficit perspectives (often gendered, classed, and racialized) about who is or can be mathematically competent. In this investigation, we used a framework of dichotomies within dominant discourses about what it means to be “good” at mathematics to interpret retrospective narratives from a larger phenomenological study of accelerated mathematics course-taking. Focus group and individual interview data from two high-achieving young women were analyzed to understand how evolving beliefs about mathematical competence impacted their STEM identity development. These dichotomies explain the questioning of their mathematical competence and their subsequent decisions to decelerate from the most rigorous program of study at their high school. Our participants negotiated tensions in their STEM identities as a result of a mathematics culture that too often values speed, correctness, and competition over collaboration, productive struggle, and help-seeking. They continue to navigate these tensions as college students and as STEM majors. Our framework can be used to understand how mathematics experiences contribute to students’ struggles to develop robust STEM identities. Full article

The present study investigated the effect of improving prospective teachers’ self-regulation to teach mathematics at primary education through the mathematical courses they attended at a pedagogical department. Forty-eight students of a pedagogical department participated in the conducted quantitative study. The implemented intervention program, which consisted of two math content courses and a teaching methodology course on mathematics, emphasized the acquaintance of unsolved mathematical problems, the historical development of mathematical concepts, the obstacles faced during the development of concepts through the centuries, and the process of mathematical continuity and development. The use of the history of mathematics aimed to enhance participants’ self-regulatory abilities about the learning and teaching of mathematics. We had used data from tools administered four times over a period of the four years of their studies: at the beginning of their studies, after two math content courses, after a course about the teaching of mathematics, and after the field work at a school. The analysis of those data showed that there was an improvement in their mathematical performance and their self-regulation ability to solve problems, but there was a decrease in their self-efficacy beliefs to teach mathematics and to self-regulate their respective teaching behavior. We discuss the effectiveness of the program on the specific dimension and the implications of the design of teacher education programs grounded in the history of mathematics, with the aim to enhance prospective teachers’ self-regulation on handling difficult situation during the teaching of mathematics. Full article

The influential theory proposed by Bandura suggests that teachers with high self-efficacy—those who strongly believe in their abilities—are more likely to effectively enhance learners’ performance. Numerous studies have consistently provided substantial evidence supporting this claim. Therefore, it is essential to investigate preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching mathematics and their expectations for outcomes. This study aims to ascertain the self-efficacy beliefs of preservice high school teachers regarding mathematics instruction. The Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) survey was completed by 63 participants from a rural institution. This survey was administered after the completion of a Mathematics Methods course but before the onset of the school experience exercise (practicum). The MTEBI consists of 21 items and uses a five-point, forced-choice Likert-like scale to assess participants’ perceptions of their effectiveness in teaching mathematics. The survey evaluates two subscales: Personal Knowledge of Mathematics Teaching Efficacy (PMTE) and Expectancy of Mathematics Teaching Outcomes (MTOE). The results on the PMTE subscale showed a mean score of 43.1 and a standard deviation of 6.1, indicating that respondents possess good personal mathematics teaching efficacy. On the MTOE subscale, the participants had a mean score of 31.5 and a standard deviation of 3.72, reflecting a positive anticipation of learners’ mathematics learning outcomes. The research also found no statistically significant differences in self-efficacy in teaching mathematics or expectations between the two genders. However, female preservice mathematics teachers reported a notably higher average in teaching self-efficacy and teaching outcome expectancy compared to their male colleagues. Consequently, this study concludes that although female preservice teachers may be more effective than their male counterparts, there is a general need to enhance self-efficacy among all preservice teachers by providing various opportunities, such as increased coursework, field experiences, and peer mentoring. Full article

Academic self-concept, the belief in one’s ability, is a key motivational construct in educational psychology and large-scale assessments. The construct is typically measured by instruments with positively (“I usually do well in science”) and negatively worded items (“I am just not good in science”). A single latent factor is often assumed. Here, we investigated this assumption using international large-scale assessment data across two age groups of children in fourth grade and adolescents in eighth grade (N = 296,320 students, 23 educational systems). We, instead, found strong evidence of the substantiveness of a negative self-concept factor derived from negatively worded items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses uncovered negative self-concept as being distinct from positive self-concept. Furthermore, theory-driven modeling supported the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model effect on negative self-concept: achievement has a stronger effect on eighth graders’ negative self-concept relative to fourth-grade children across many countries, especially for mathematics. Overall, understanding students’ negative appraisals and negative beliefs of their ability is an important theoretical and policy imperative. Full article

Various pedagogical approaches have been proposed to attract more female students to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), targeting student beliefs and perceptions that are linked to STEM study intentions. The current study, which took place in a secondary school in Cyprus and employed a quasi-experimental design, aims at contributing to this literature. Responses to pre- and post-questionnaires by 69 experimental and 27 control students show that students in the experimental group, who participated in an intervention in which they learned about the lives and accomplishments of STEM/STEAM role models via a game-based learning approach, improved their STEM ability perceptions compared to control group students, who reported similar pre-post survey levels of STEM ability perceptions. Female students benefited more compared to their male counterparts, and using a game-based learning approach contributed significantly to the effectiveness of students’ exposure to the role models. Taken together, study findings support the use of role models and learning games as tools to attract more female students to STEM. Full article

The concept of learning has multiple interpretations, ranging from acquiring knowledge or skills to constructing meaning and social development. Machine Learning (ML) is considered a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and develops algorithms that can learn from data and generalize their judgment to new observations by exploiting primarily statistical methods. The new millennium has seen the proliferation of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), a formalism able to reach extraordinary achievements in complex problems such as computer vision and natural language recognition. In particular, designers claim that this formalism has a strong resemblance to the way the biological neurons operate. This work argues that although ML has a mathematical/statistical foundation, it cannot be strictly regarded as a science, at least from a methodological perspective. The main reason is that ML algorithms have notable prediction power although they cannot necessarily provide a causal explanation about the achieved predictions. For example, an ANN could be trained on a large dataset of consumer financial information to predict creditworthiness. The model takes into account various factors like income, credit history, debt, spending patterns, and more. It then outputs a credit score or a decision on credit approval. However, the complex and multi-layered nature of the neural network makes it almost impossible to understand which specific factors or combinations of factors the model is using to arrive at its decision. This lack of transparency can be problematic, especially if the model denies credit and the applicant wants to know the specific reasons for the denial. The model’s “black box” nature means it cannot provide a clear explanation or breakdown of how it weighed the various factors in its decision-making process. Secondly, this work rejects the belief that a machine can simply learn from data, either in supervised or unsupervised mode, just by applying statistical methods. The process of learning is much more complex, as it requires the full comprehension of a learned ability or skill. In this sense, further ML advancements, such as reinforcement learning and imitation learning denote encouraging similarities to similar cognitive skills used in human learning. Full article

Teachers’ self-efficacy and beliefs about culturally responsive teaching are intricately intertwined with their practice and influence the ways they interact with children and families in and outside the classroom. To understand how participation in a service-learning internship (i.e., Soar into STEMed) focused on promoting science and mathematics content knowledge, self-efficacy, and conceptions about culturally responsive pedagogies, we examined pre- and post-survey responses to the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) and Culturally Responsive Teaching Expectancy (CRTOE) scales and written reflections for one pre-service teacher, Alexis. The findings indicated that Alexis’ self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs declined across the internship, yet remained relatively high. Alexis’ reflections further indicated an ability to identify and implement responsive teaching practices, though many fell short of being considered culturally responsive. The findings also demonstrated that the CRTSE and CRTOE scales were unable to capture all of the teaching activities that occurred in informal settings. Consequently, this study illustrates that Alexis’ participation alone in the internship was insufficient in growing her conceptions of culturally responsive teaching, and more targeted and directed activities are necessary. Moreover, instruments that can more accurately assess pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs regarding culturally responsive teaching across contexts is needed. Full article

The goal of education for sustainable development is to prepare future citizens to make informed decisions and take responsible action to solve problems. The purpose of mathematical literacy is to ensure that all learners develop an understanding of mathematics, and how to relate mathematics to the world and use mathematical knowledge to make valuable decisions in their lives, work, and society. It can be seen that the purpose of mathematical literacy coincides with the goal of education for sustainable development. In addition, math literacy is closely related to self-regulated learning (SRL), which is the key to meaningful learning and sustainable development. In educational research, it is an essential task to cultivate learners’ mathematical literacy and promote their sustainable development. With the rapid growth of emerging technologies, the emergence of big data has brought numerous challenges to various research fields. In the age of big data, educational research that can identify research perspectives and hotspots and summarize research evolution rules from a large body of literature can assist us in deepening subsequent analysis. As a result, in this study, we used CiteSpace and HistCite knowledge map visualization and exploration technology to examine mathematical literacy research trends, major research countries and regions, major research institutions, significant researchers, highly cited papers, research hotspots, and evolution trends on a global scale. Through this study, we found that the earliest literature on mathematical literacy appeared in 1957, and the research on mathematical literacy can be divided into three germination stages (1957–2001), a slow development stage (2001–2011), and a prosperous development stage (2011–2022). Most studies come from developed countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, and Australia. The Universities of Utrecht and Purdue University were the most published institutions, and scholars at Purpura published the most articles. The research object of highly cited literature is mainly children, and the research is primarily carried out through the measurement of students’ mathematical ability and achievement and the analysis of related influencing factors, which provides a direction for how to improve students’ mathematical literacy. The research on mathematical literacy mainly includes four research hotspots: working memory and mathematical literacy; brain science and mathematical literacy; mathematical achievement and mathematical literacy; and the generation strategy of mathematical literacy. The research field of mathematics literacy mainly includes working memory, parietal cortex, math performance, mathematics education, early childhood, parental belief, fractions, cognitive development, and student learning. There are 10 clusters. Different clusters have different evolutionary trends. With the evolution of time, working memory, mathematical education, fractions, and precinct beliefs clustered, gradually expanding from the concentrated research direction to the subdivision field. The clusters of parietal cortex, math performance, early childhood, cognitive development, and students do not show large keyword nodes during the research period. With time, it has gradually expanded from the centralized research direction to the subdivision field. The parietal cortex, math performance, early childhood, cognitive development, and students clusters did not show large keyword nodes during the whole study period. Full article

Evolutionary optimization (EO) has been proven to be highly effective computation means in solving asymmetry problems in engineering practices. In this study, a novel evolutionary optimization approach for the belief rule base (BRB) system is proposed, namely EO-BRB, by constructing an optimization model and employing the Differential Evolutionary (DE) algorithm as its optimization engine due to its ability to locate an optimal solution for problems with nonlinear complexity. In the EO-BRB approach, the most representative referenced values of the attributes which are pre-determined in traditional learning approaches are to be optimized. In the optimization model, the mean squared error (MSE) between the actual and observed data is taken as the objective, while the initial weights of all the rules, the beliefs of the scales in the conclusion part, and the referenced values of the attributes are taken as the restraints. Compared with the traditional learning approaches for the BRB system, the EO-BRB approach (1) does not require transforming the numerical referenced values of the attributes into linguistic terms; (2) does not require identifying any initial solution; (3) does not require any mathematical deduction and/or case-specific information which verifies it as a general approach; and (4) can help downsize the BRB system while producing superior performances. Thus, the proposed EO-BRB approach can make the best use of the nonlinear modeling ability of BRB and the optimization superiority of the EO algorithms. Three asymmetry numerical and practical cases are studied to validate the efficiency of the proposed EO-BRB approach. Full article

Math has a strong gender-related image, even among teachers. As teachers hold beliefs about their work, their role, their subject, and their students, they shape girls’ and boys’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. Research during the past 20 years has shown that teachers’ gender beliefs about mathematics significantly favor boys, thereby reinforcing girls’ low math ability self-concept. Still, there is a lack of studies that examine teachers’ gender-related beliefs based on their underlying assumptions. Our study provides the first empirical evidence of the relationship between general gender stereotypes and math stereotypes. To this end, we used partial correlation and MANCOVA to analyze data from an online survey in 2019/2020 conducted in Switzerland (195 women, 80 men) as part of a cross-cultural comparison study. We therefore created a differentiated profile of prospective teachers by examining their beliefs about their self-image, their image of men and women in society, their essentialist and gender role ideology beliefs, and their math stereotypes. Then, we linked prospective teachers’ beliefs about gender (based on 48 characteristics) to their beliefs about mathematics and about girls’ and boys’ competencies in math. The extensive analysis provides knowledge about prospective teachers and is particularly important for teacher education. Full article

This explanatory case study aims to formulate a framework of spiritual influence on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-based research for sustainable development from the perspective of university scientists. This single-site case qualitative study involves seven participants from a Malaysian public research university with a variety of specific research fields. Questions regarding the driving factors of their research strategy for sustainable technology developments were asked. Consequently, the main driving factors on using STEM approaches for sustainable developments are career competency enhancements. This theme can be proven with elements, such as STEM for enhancing the ability to expand a specific field contribution, improving interdisciplinary management, obtaining outsource support, and enhancing innovative capability. Meanwhile, spiritual influence on sustainable development is a part of the philosophy of participants and can be proven through the elements of moral and ethical beliefs with respect to religious values in their scientific career and STEM-based research practice. Therefore, the influence of spirituality is a crucial concept, which can ensure social, emotional, economic, and environmental sustainability development. This framework is built among limited participants. Thus, confirming this framework by using a wide range of samples is encouraged. Moreover, this study generally has implications for sustainable development using STEM-based practice for specific field expertise. The concept aims to provide remarkable contributions to the growth of comprehensive, holistic, and sustainable development and to extend the current literature on STEM research approaches by inculcating spiritual elements. Full article

Beliefs have been conceived as a hidden variable in mathematics education. It is important to know teachers’ beliefs as they can inform the way that teachers teach mathematics, make decisions in the classroom, and form opinions about the abilities of students. In Costa Rica, studies about beliefs have been conducted with in-service teachers, but there is no research on pre-service teachers and the beliefs they bring to the classroom from their teacher education programs (TEPs). This research aims to describe the beliefs held by 76 pre-service teachers and 19 teacher educators from four Costa Rican public universities, using the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) questionnaire. The results suggest that both pre-service teachers and teacher educators believe in a constructivist orientation focused on the learner. Both groups support the view of mathematics as a process of inquiry and active learning and agree that mathematical skills are not fixed or associated with gender or culture. In the literature, the beliefs manifested by the participants are associated with positive results regarding student outcomes and teaching practices. Therefore, policymakers should be concerned with providing environments that allow and encourage teachers to continue with these belief orientations when they start teaching. Full article

In research focused on self-efficacy it is usually teacher-related phenomena that are studied, while the main aspects related to pupils are rather neglected, although self-efficacy itself is perceived as a belief in one’s own abilities. Evidently, this strongly influences the behavior of individuals in terms of the goal and success in mathematical problem-solving. Considering that alternative teaching methods are based on the principle of belief in one’s own ability (mainly in the case of group work), higher self-efficacy can be expected in the pupils of teachers who use predominantly the well-working pupil-centered pedagogies. A total of 1133 pupils in grade 5 from 36 schools in the Czech Republic were involved in the testing of their ability to solve mathematical problems and their mathematical self-efficacy as well. Participants were divided according to the above criteria as follows: (i) 73 from Montessori primary schools, (ii) 332 pupils educated in mathematics according to the Hejný method, (iii) 510 pupils from an ordinary primary school, and (iv) 218 pupils completing the Dalton teaching plan. In the field of mathematical problem-solving the pupils from the Montessori primary schools clearly outperformed pupils from the Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.027) as well as pupils attending ordinary primary schools (p = 0.009), whereas the difference between the Montessori schools and Hejný classes was not significant (p = 0.764). There is no statistically significant difference in the level of self-efficacy of pupils with respect to the preferred strategies for managing learning activities (p = 0.781). On the other hand, correlation between mathematical problem-solving and self-efficacy was confirmed in all the examined types of schools. However, the correlation coefficient was lower in the case of the pupils from the classes applying the Hejný method in comparison with the pupils attending the Montessori schools (p = 0.073), Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.043), and ordinary primary schools (p = 0.002). Even though the results in mathematical problem-solving are not consistent across the studies, the presented results confirm better performance of pupils in some constructivist settings, particularly in the case of individual constructivism in the Montessori primary schools. The factors influencing lower correlation of self-efficacy and performance in mathematical problem-solving ought to be subject to further investigation. Full article

The pervasive and often uncritical acceptance of materialistic philosophical commitments within exercise science is deeply problematic. This commitment to materialism is wrong for several reasons. Among the most important are that it ushers in fallacious metaphysical assumptions regarding the nature of causation and the nature of human beings. These mistaken philosophical commitments are key because the belief that only matter is real severely impedes the exercise scientist’s ability to accurately understand or deal with human beings, whether as subjects of study or as data points to be interpreted. One example of materialist metaphysics is the assertion that all causation is physical- one lever moving another lever, one atom striking another atom, one brain state leading to another (Kretchmer, 2005). In such a world, human life is reduced to action and reaction, stimulus and response and as a result, the human being disappears. As such, a deterministic philosophy is detrimental to kinesiologists’ attempts to interpret and understand human behavior, for a materialistic philosophy, must ignore or explain away human motivation, human freedom and ultimately culture itself. In showing how mistaken these philosophic commitments are, I will focus on the sub-discipline of sport psychology for most examples, as that is the field of exercise science of which I am paradigmatically most familiar. It is also the field, when rightly understood that straddles the “two cultures” in kinesiology (i.e., the sciences and the humanities). In referencing the dangers of the materialistic conception of human beings for sport psychology, I will propose, that the materialist’s account of the natural world, causation and human beings stems from the unjustified and unnecessary rejection by the founders of modern science of the Aristotelian picture of the world (Feser, 2012). One reason that this mechanistic point of view, concerning human reality has gained ground in kinesiology is as a result of a previous philosophic commitment to quantification. As philosopher Doug Anderson (2002) has pointed out, many kinesiologists believe that shifting the discipline in the direction of mathematics and science would result in enhanced academic credibility. Moreover, given the dominance of the scientific narrative in our culture it makes it very difficult for us not to conform to it. That is, as Twietmeyer (2015) argued, kinesiologists do not just reject non-materialistic philosophic conceptions of the field, we are oblivious to their possibility. Therefore, I will propose two things; first, Aristotelian philosophy is a viable alternative to materialistic accounts of nature and causation and second, that Aristotle’s holistic anthropology is an important way to wake kinesiologists from their self-imposed philosophic slumber. Full article

Is there a relationship between mathematics ability beliefs and STEM degrees? Fields such as physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC) are thought to require talent or brilliance. However, the potential effects of difficulty perceptions on students’ participation in STEM have yet to be examined using a gender and race/ethnicity intersectional lens. Using nationally representative U.S. longitudinal data, we measure gender and racial/ethnic variation in secondary students’ orientation towards mathematics difficulty. We observed nuanced relationships between mathematics difficulty orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and PEMC major and degree outcomes. In secondary school, the gap between boys’ and girls’ mathematics difficulty orientations were wider than gaps between White and non-White students. Mathematics difficulty orientation was positively associated with both declaring majors and earning degrees in PEMC. This relationship varied more strongly based on gender than race/ethnicity. Notably, Black women show higher gains in predicted probability to declare a mathematics-intensive major as compared to all other women, given their mathematics difficulty orientations. This study’s findings show that both gender and racial/ethnic identities may influence the relationship between mathematics difficulty orientation and postsecondary STEM outcomes. Full article