Self-efficacy and enjoyment for learning mathematics among lower secondary school students: differences, changes and causal relationships among first year students
Date
2019-08
Authors
Muwonge, Charles Magoba
Kwarikunda, Diana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
The present longitudinal study was guided by the following research questions; (a) are
there significant differences in students’ self-efficacy and enjoyment for learning maths
with respect to their demographic characteristics? , (b) do students self-efficacy and
enjoyment to learn maths change during the first year of lower secondary school? and
(c) what are the causal relationships between self-efficacy and enjoyment for learning
math during the first year of lower secondary school? The sample comprised of 237
randomly selected students in their first year of lower secondary school in Uganda. Data
were collected using two subscales from the Attitudes towards Math Inventory and the
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and analyzed using t-tests, Analysis of
Variance, and cross-lagged modeling. We noted significant differences in students math
self-efficacy in second term based on their sex and mother’s education and a decrease
in students’ enjoyment and self-efficacy from the first to the second term of study. Selfefficacy
and enjoyment for math learning were relatively stable during the two terms of
study. Lastly, we noted a unidirectional causal relationship between students’ efficacy
and enjoyment for maths learning - with enjoyment for learning maths in the first term
significantly predicting students’ maths efficacy beliefs for the second term.
Implications of the study findings to maths education will be discussed.
Description
Paper presented at the 5th Strathmore International Mathematics Conference (SIMC 2019), 12 - 16 August 2019, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
Keywords
Cross-lagged modeling, Maths self-efficacy, Lower secondary school.