ERIC Number: EJ1125054
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-8543
EISSN: N/A
Early Adolescents' Views on Engagement and Achievement in Mathematical Learning
Nicholas, Karen; Fletcher, Jo
Journal of Research in Childhood Education, v31 n1 p40-52 2017
By giving early adolescents in their last 2 years of primary/elementary schooling opportunities to voice their ideas, teacher educators, school leaders, and teachers gain insight into how children view their mathematics learning. This article explores the views and aspirations of 34 11- to 13-year-old students from a range of socioeconomic schools within New Zealand. They represent students from a variety of cultural ethnicities and achievement levels in mathematics. The study found that children who were new immigrants who were situated within low and middle socioeconomic schools were grouped together in the bottom band of achievement in mathematics. Also, the students identified by their teachers as average and below average in mathematics preferred to continue practicing their basic number facts, play computer games, and complete worksheets. Of concern is the finding that most of the students did not like discussing deeper mathematical conceptual understandings. Many, despite having positive attitudes toward mathematics, were anxious about the transition to secondary schooling, where they perceived mathematical learning would be more complex and "harder."
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Early Adolescents, Secondary School Students, Elementary School Students, Student Attitudes, Learner Engagement, Mathematics Achievement, Academic Aspiration, Immigrants, Socioeconomic Status, Preferences, Mathematics Skills, Computer Games, Worksheets, Mathematical Concepts, Mathematics Education, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Grounded Theory, Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A