Factors affecting students' interest in mathematics at the elementary level.
Published: 2007
Language: eng
Number of pages: 57
ISBN-13: 9780494274552
Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary); School children -- Attitudes.
Description: This thesis sought to explore some of the factors that may affect student interest in mathematics at the elementary level. Perceptions of students' attitudes towards mathematics were gathered using semi-structured group interviews of students. A questionnaire consisting of eight open-ended questions was also used to collect the data.Results of the study indicate that students are aware of their attitudes towards mathematics, they can identify factors that affect how they think and feel about mathematics, and they have ideas about how the process of teaching mathematics could be modified in order to improve student learning. Analysis of the results suggests four factors identified by the students, namely: (i) conceptions of mathematics, (ii) exciting or interesting activities, (iii) unpopular or boring activities, and (iv) students' ideal of a mathematics curriculum. Furthermore, analysis of the results shows that the factors identified by the students represent only a small component of factors identified in the literature.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2788.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007.

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