INTEGRITY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Integrity Research Journals

ISSN: 2636-5995
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/IJET
Start Year: 2016
Email: ijet@integrityresjournals.org


Effects of school type and gender on student’s self-concept and mathematics achievement

https://doi.org/10.31248/IJET2019.032   |   Article Number: 7D17C4F31   |   Vol.3 (1) - April 2019

Received Date: 18 February 2019   |   Accepted Date: 22 March 2019  |   Published Date: 30 April 2019

Author:  Mavis Okyere

Keywords: gender, Achievement, interaction, private school, public school, self-concept, school type.

The attention of mathematics educators has been focused on the role self-concept plays in students’ achievement for some time now. A great number of studies shows evidence of a relationship between self-concept and mathematics achievement. Some other studies considered gender differences in self-concept and mathematics achievement.  This study was designed to extend the discussions on self-concept and mathematics achievement to include the interaction effect of school type and gender on self-concept and mathematics achievement. The study involved 119 students selected from three different types of school within a district. The schools were selected using stratified random sampling whiles the students were conveniently sampled. A self-concept questionnaire and mathematics achievement test were the two instruments used to gather data for the study. The instruments had reliabilities of 0.72 and 0.68 respectively.  The result of the study revealed that both gender and school type have a significant effect on students’ self-concept and mathematics achievement, however, the effect of school type was found to be greater than that of gender. The study found no significant interaction effect of school type and gender on self-concept and mathematics achievement. The findings of the study were discussed in relation to previous findings. It was recommended that the characteristics of the schools need to be studied in order to determine the school variables that impact mathematics self-concept and achievement.

Ampiah, G. J. (2008). An investigation of provision of quality basic education in Ghana: A case study of selected schools in the Central Region. CICE Hiroshima University. Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 11(3), 19-37.
 
Awofala, A. O. A. (2017). Assessing senior secondary school students' mathematical proficiency as related to gender and performance in mathematics in Nigeria. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 3(2), 488-502.
Crossref
 
Awuah, M., Eshun, B. A., & Sokpe, B. Y. (2011). Impact of mathematics teachers' characteristics on female junior secondary school students' attitude and achievement in mathematics. Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. 5(1), 15 -26.
 
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In Ramachaudran, V. S. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.
 
Baram-Tsabari, A., & Yarden, A. (2011). Quantifying the gender gap in science interests. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(3), 523-550.
Crossref
 
Britner, S. L. (2008). Motivation in high school science students: A comparison of gender differences in life, physics and earth science classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(8), 955-970.
Crossref
 
Buschor, C. B., Kappler, C., Frei, A. K., & Berweger, S. (2014). I want to be a scientist/a teacher: Students' perceptions of career decision-making in gender-typed, non-traditional areas of work. Gender and Education, 26(7), 743-758.
Crossref
 
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th edn). New York: Routledge.
Crossref
 
Craven, R. G., Marsh, H. W., & Burnett, P. (2003). Cracking the self-concept enhancement conundrum: A call and blueprint for the next generation of self-concept enhancement research. In Marsh, H. W., Craven, R. G., & McInerney, D. M. (Eds.). International advances in self research (Vol. 1, pp. 91-126). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
 
Craven, R. G., & Yeung, A. S. (2008). International best practice in effective educational interventions: Why self-concept matters and examples from bullying, peer support, and reading research. In McInerney, D. M. Shawn, V. E., & Dowson, M. (Eds.). Research on sociocultural influences on motivation and learning. (Vol. 8, pp. 267-294): Teaching and learning: International best practice. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
 
Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd edn). London: Sage publications.
 
Forgasz, H. L., & Leder, G. C. (2017). Persistent gender inequities in mathematics achievement and expectations in Australia, Canada and the UK. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 29, 261-282.
Crossref
 
Henrion, C. (1997). Women in mathematics. The addition of difference. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
 
Howie, S. J., & Plomp, T. (2003). Language proficiency and contextual factors influencing secondary students' performance in mathematics in South Africa. Paper presented at the American Education Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, 2003.
Link
 
Hyde, J. S., & Meertz, J. E. (2009). Gender, culture, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, 106, 8801-8807.
Crossref
 
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) (2007). Student Questionnaire- Grade 8.
Link
 
Ismail, N. A., & Anwang, H. (2009). Differences in mathematics achievement among eighth grade students in Malaysia. Journal of International Education Studies 2, 8‐11.
Crossref
 
Kanafiah, S., & Jumadi, A (2013). Students' Perception Towards Mathematics: Attitudes, Interests and Lecturers' Teaching. International Symposium on Mathematical Sciences and Computing Research. 6‐7th December 2013. Perak, Malaysia.
 
Kifer, E. A. (2002). Students' attitudes and perceptions. In Robataille, D. F. & Beaton, A. E. (Eds.). Secondary analysis of the TIMSS data (pp. 251-275). Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Crossref
 
Lai, F. (2010). Are boys left behind? The evolution of the gender achievement gap in Beijing's middle schools. Economics of Education Review, 29(4), 383-399.
Crossref
 
Lay, Y. F., & Chandrasegaran, A. L. (2016). Availability of school resources and TIMSS grade 8 students' science achievement: A comparative study between Malaysia and Singapore. International Journal of Environment & Science Education, 11(9), 3065-3080.
 
Li, M., Zhang, Y., & Wang, Y. (2017). Gender gap in mathematics and physics in Chinese middle schools: A case study of a Beijing's district. Urban Review, 49, 568-584.
Crossref
 
Marsh, H. W., & Craven, R. G. (2006). Reciprocal effects of self-concept and performance from a multidimensional perspective: Beyond seductive pleasure and unidimensional perspectives. Perspectives on psychological science, 1(2), 133-163.
Crossref
 
Mendick, H. (2005). Mathematical stories: Why do more boys than girls choose to study mathematics at AS‐level in England? British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26(2), 235-251.
Crossref
 
Ministry of Education (2017). Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2017-2019: 2017 budget estimates. Retrieved from www.mofep.gov.gh
 
Mohammadpour, E., Kalantarrashidi, A. S., & Shekarchizadeh, A. (2015). Multilevel modeling of science achievement in the TIMSS participating countries. The Journal of Educational Research, 108, 449-464.
Crossref
 
Neuenschwander, R., Friedman-Krauss, A., Raver, C., & Blair, C. (2017). Teacher stress predicts child executive function: moderation by school poverty. Early Education and Development, 28(7), 880-900.
Crossref
 
Noureen, G., & Sheikh, I. (2016). Students mathematical problem-solving proficiency in relation to gender at grade vi. Journal of Research and Reflections in Education, 10(2), 123- 131.
 
Ntim, S., & Okyere, M. (2014). Synergy between home environmental features, early language literacy and later reading achievement: Comparative study of urban, semi-urban and rural Ghanaian children. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 8(1), 291-300.
 
Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (5th edn). England: McGraw-Hill.
 
Pekrun, R., & Zirngibl, A. (2004). Schülermerkmale im Fach Mathematik [Student characteristics in mathematics]. In Prenzel, M., Baumert, J., Blum, W., Lehmann, R., Leutner, D., Neubrand, M., Pekrun, R., Rolff, H. G., Rost, J., & Schiefele, U. (Eds.). PISA 2003. Der Bildungsstand der Jugendlichen in Deutschland-Ergebnisse des zweiten internationalen Vergleichs (pp. 191-210). Münster, Germany:Waxmann.
 
Pierce, C. A., Block, R. A., & Aguinis, H. (2004). Cautionary note on reporting eta-squared values from multifactor ANOVA designs. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(6), 916-924.
Crossref
 
Preckel, F., Goetz, T., Pekrun, R., & Kleine, M. (2008). Gender differences in gifted and average ability students: Comparing girls' and boys' achievement, self-concept, interest, and motivation in mathematics. Gifted Child Quarterly, 52(2), 146-159.
Crossref
 
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. (2018). Using multivariate statistics (6th edn). India: Pearson Education Inc.
 
USAID (2005). A look at learning in Ghana: The final evaluation of USAID/Ghana's Quality Improvement in Primary Schools (QUIPS) program. Accra: USAID-Ghana.
 
Winnaar, L. D., Frempong, G., & Blignaut, R. (2015). Understanding school effects in South Africa using multilevel analysis: Findings from TIMSS 2011. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 13(1), 151-170.
 
Yeung, A. S., Craven, R. G., & Ali, J. (2013). Self-concepts and educational outcomes of Indigenous Australian students in urban and rural school settings. School Psychology International 34(4), 405-427.
Crossref