B.

Attitude Towards Mathematics

i. Definition

Attitudes can be seen as more or less positive. For instance, de Lourdes Mata et al. (2012), a positive

attitude towards mathematics reflects a positive emotional disposition in relation to the subject and, in a

similar way, a negative attitude towards mathematics relates to a negative emotional disposition. These

emotional dispositions have an impact on an individual’s behavior, as one is likely to achieve better in a

subject that one enjoys, has confidence in or finds useful. For this reason, positive attitudes towards

mathematics are desirable since they may influence one’s willingness to learn and also the benefits one

can derive from mathematics instruction. On the other hand, Prodigy (2019) states that students’ attitude

towards math can affect their overall achievement. Value, self-confidence, enjoyment, motivation and anxiety

surrounding math are all reflected in a student’s attitude. Getting involved as early as possible is the best way

to prevent long-lasting negative attitudes towards math.

ii. Mathematics Attitude in the Philippines

In the Philippines, Paguican & Torreon (2020) mentioned that mathematics is one of the core subjects to all

students in primary, elementary, and secondary schools. It is always a subject for improvement in these

times and the daily application. This subject has tremendous scope; however, its many separate

disciplines can differ greatly in terms of subject matter. No single path to discovery exists in Mathematics

and not even one clear-cut description can be given that accounts for all the ways in which Mathematics is

pursued. It plays a salient role in shaping the logical thinking of one’s student life It serves as the vehicle

towards achieving goals. It is a subject to be embraced to pay attention and to give importance of. Some

students felt burden, some felt challenge and others felt Mathematics subject enjoyable. It is a very

interesting subject that is needed in all walks of life. However, to many, it is a difficult and seemingly dry

subject to learn. Capuno et al. (2019) analyzed the Attitudes, Study Habits, and Academic Performance of

Junior High School Students in Mathematics. The study revealed that those respondents had positive
attitudes towards mathematics in terms of its value while they had a neutral attitude when it comes to

their self-confidence, enjoyment, and motivation in mathematics. Based on the findings of Abalde & Oco

(2023), Students have a very positive attitude toward their study habits when learning Mathematics.

Students felt that studying and learning Mathematics was essential. Students' success and academic

growth depend heavily on their Mathematics performance.it is essential for pupils to master and

comprehend its concepts. Students' study habits in terms of attitudes have an impact on how they learn

Mathematics. Naungayan (2022) found that, the students have displayed a positive attitude towards the

labeled difficult subject. They can acknowledge the relevance of the subject to oneself and his future

undertakings though they experience difficulty in dealing with some calculations and problem-solving.

The level of mathematics achievement of the students is Satisfactory. However, a significant number of

‘Very Satisfactory’ students were noted. Attitude towards the subject is significantly correlated to a

student's mathematics achievement. Ayuman-Valdez and Guiab (2015) studied the possible predictors of

mathematics performance of grade six pupils of Cauayan Northeast District. Findings revealed that pupil

respondents have a positive attitude towards the subject; majority of the pupils have high self-confidence

and high success orientation while they have little confidence in terms of defense orientation; pupils

described their teacher as “Very Satisfactory; the mathematics performance of the pupils is Approaching

Proficient or Average. On predictors, the mathematics teacher was found to be the only predictor of

Mathematics performance. The study proved the long-time belief that pupils’ success in learning greatly

depends on the teacher.

Moreover, andamon & tan (2018) studied about the Conceptual Understanding, Attitude And Performance

In Mathematics Of Grade 7 Students, they stated that Students’ performance in mathematics is in the

approaching to proficiency level. It is understood that students are not well performed in the field of

mathematics. The students have developing level of conceptual understanding in mathematics. Findings

also show that student’ conceptual understanding in mathematics has no significant relationship to their

performance in mathematics. Among the independent variables, only students’ attitude towards
mathematics has significant relationship to the performance in mathematics. This means that the higher

the attitude towards mathematics the better is the performance in mathematics.

iii. Mathematics Attitude around the world

Accordin to de Lourdes Mata et al. (2012), several studies have been undertaken to try to reach an

understanding of the relationship between student attitudes towards mathematics and academic

achievement. In Ma and Kishor meta-analysis only weak correlations between these variables were

identified and these relationships were dependent on several variables (e.g., grade, sample size, ethnic

background). With regard to grade, these associations become stronger among older students (7th to 12th

grade).

However, more recent studies point to a positive correlation between student attitudes towards

mathematics and stu- dent academic achievement. Along these lines are the results obtained by

Nicolaidou and Philippou which reveal significant correlations between attitudes and performance.

Students having positive attitudes achieved better. Mato and De La Torre in a study with secondary school

students also showed that those with better academic performance have more positive attitudes regarding

math than those with poorer academic performance. These results were confirmed in wider research,

concerning math study attitudes among the secondary school students of nine countries, developed by

Sanchez et al. Lipnevich et al. in a study developed with USA and BieloRussian middle school students

highlighted the importance of attitudes in predicting academic achievement, when it showed that

mathematics attitudes explained a variance of 25% to 32% in mathematics achievement, with much of the

explained variance independent of ability in math.

Nevertheless, Georgiou et al. showed that high achievement could serve to predict a positive attitude

towards math, but such an attitude could not predict stronger achievement. However, these authors

emphasize the role of teachers and schools in changing attitudes stating that, math achievement could be
improved by, for example, better teaching methods, more motivated teachers or better course books,

which has as its corollary the improvement of attitudes towards math.showed that mathematics attitudes

explained a variance of 25% to 32% in mathematics achievement, with much of the explained variance

independent of ability in math.

Nevertheless, Georgiou et al. showed that high achievement could serve to predict a positive attitude

towards math, but such an attitude could not predict stronger achievement. On the other hand, Berger et

al. (2020) stated that Australia has seen declining numbers of students choosing mathematics and science

subjects in the senior secondary years, running counter to economic projections of an accelerating need

for science and mathematics skills. Many students become less engaged with these subjects in the junior

secondary years but attitudes such as self-concept, utility value, and intrinsic value are important for

subject selection decisions. Their study found out that positive attitudes towards both subjects were

mutually beneficial—better attitudes towards both were associated with higher achievement in each—but

boys tended to be more positive towards both subjects and so benefitted from this relationship more than

girls

References:

Abalde, G.D. & Oco, R.M. (2023). Factors Associated with Mathematics Performance.

https://philarchive.org/archive/ABAFAW

Andamon, A.C. & Tan, D.A. (2018). Conceptual Understanding, Attitude And Performance In

Mathematics Of Grade 7 Students.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Denis-Tan/publication/327135996_Conceptual_Understanding_Attit

ude_And_Performance_In_Mathematics_Of_Grade_7_Students/links/5b7bb52b92851c1e1223d782/

Conceptual-Understanding-Attitude-And-Performance-In-Mathematics-Of-Grade-7-Students.pdf
Ayuman-Valdez, E., & Guiab, M. R. (2015). Predictors of mathematics performance of Grade VI pupils in

a School District in Northern Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, I(XXXIV).

https://web.archive.org/web/20180426042517id_/http://www.apjor.com/downloads/101220154.pdf

Berger et al. (2020). Positive attitudes towards mathematics and science are mutually beneficial for

student achievement: a latent profile analysis of TIMSS 2015.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-020-00379-8

Capuno, R. et al. (2019). Attitudes, Study Habits, and Academic Performance of Junior High School

Students in Mathematics. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1227082

de Lourdes Mata et al. (2012). Attitudes towards mathematics: Effects of individual, motivational, and social

support factors. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2012/876028/

Naungayan, R. R. (2022). Attitude towards mathematics and mathematics achievement of secondary

school learners in Banayoyo-Lidlidda District. Puissant, 3, 395-407.

https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/77748/ssoar-puissant-2022-naungayan-

Attitude_towards_Mathematics_and_Mathematics.pdf

Paguican, W.V & Torreon, L.C. (2020). Students’ Attitude, Self-Efficacy and Motivation towards

Mathematics Performance. https://wwjmrd.com/upload/students-attitude-self-efficacy-and-motivation-

towards-mathematics-performance_1601539607.pdf

Prodigy Education. (2019). How Attitude Towards Math Impacts Student Achievement.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/attitude-towards-math/#:~:text=Value%2C%20self%2Dconfidence

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