Construct of first-year undergraduates' math beliefs: An exploratory investigation of related factors

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the construct of math beliefs and to explore factors that may explain individual differences in those beliefs. Math beliefs are defined as a person's perspective on the nature of mathematics. A Math Beliefs Questionnaire was developed; first-year undergraduates (N = 762) completed the questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on the results. The results revealed that math beliefs are constructed of 4 factors: usefulness, thinking process, fixedness, and difficulty. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted on the models with those 4 factors as dependent variables, and gender, math experience (major, math exam experience, and experience with high-level math), and academic attainment (university entry difficulty, confidence in math) as independent variables. The results revealed that the variables related to academic attainment and math experience affected math beliefs. Higher confidence was positively related to usefulness and thinking process, whereas it was negatively related to fixedness and difficulty. University entry difficulty, math exam experience, and experience with high-level math were positively related to thinking process and negatively related to fixedness. Major also positively affected thinking process. No significant path was found between gender and math beliefs.