High School Students’ Reasons for disliking Mathematics: The Intersection Between Teacher’s Role and Student’s Emotions, Belief and Self-efficacy

Abstract

The study presented here depicts the reasons for high school students to have a negative attitude toward mathematics. The students were asked to rate mathematics in comparison to other subjects like history, physics, or computer science. In addition, they were asked about their attitude, beliefs, and motivations toward mathematics. To this end a convergent parallel mixed-method approach was implemented using a questionnaire that combines open-ended, closed-ended (e.g., forced ranking scale, or multiple and single responses), and liker-scale items. One of the main reasons for student’s reluctancy toward mathematics is their lack of understanding and self-perception of low content knowledge, which let them to have a negative perception. Students stated that their negative perception was not new, but instead something they knew since elementary.