Excellent Mathematical Performance Despite “Negative” Affect of Students in Korea: The Values Perspective

Abstract

Purpose: Given the unclear relationship between cognition and affect, this article reports on a study exploring how the conative variable of values may provide some explanation for students with excellent performance despite a negative attitude toward mathematics. Design/Approach/Methods: The study reported in this article represents Korea's participation in the international “What I Find Important (in my mathematics learning)” [WIFI] study, which assesses the attributes of mathematics learning and teaching that are valued by students. The participants of this study were 816 Korean students who responded to the WIFI questionnaire. Findings: The results of principal component analysis indicated that the following five attributes about mathematics and mathematics pedagogy were valued by Korean students: understanding, connections, fun, accuracy, and efficiency. These attributes were further analyzed with relation to student gender, school system, and student confidence. Originality/Value: Korean students’ valuing of understanding and connections is noteworthy. It is hoped that the findings of this study might explain Korean students’ exceptional performance despite a generally low affective mode, and extending this further, how values in mathematics education might be a useful construct to help us make sense of the observed mismatch globally between high performance and low affect.