Math Self-Concept and Mathematics Achievement: Examining Gender Variation and Reciprocal Relations among Junior High School Students in Taiwan

Abstract

The study explored Taiwanese students' mathematics learning at the junior high school level. Utilizing structural equation modeling, it examined the relationships between math self-concept and mathematics achievement with longitudinal data. Participants included 1,256 Taiwanese seventh graders in the first wave and declined slightly to 1,211 eighth graders in the second wave. Findings indicated the following. First, the longitudinal effects were all significant: (a) prior mathematics achievement significantly predicted subsequent math self-concept (skill development model), (b) prior math selfconcept significantly predicted subsequent mathematics achievement (selfenhancement model), and (c) the reciprocal effects model was supported, and the effects of achievement tended to become stronger and more systematic. Second, results showed significant gender variation with respect to math self-concept and mathematics achievement. Boys had significantly higher math self-concept than girls, whereas girls exhibited higher mathematics achievement than boys. The implications of these findings for cultivating students' interest in mathematics learning were discussed.

Gender differences in mathematics and science competitions: A systematic review

“…The initial two research questions of this review attempted to identify gender differences in mathematics and science competition participation and achievement. Overall participation and achievements in mathematics and science fairs were equal for male and female participants, which is comparable with findings in secondary education (e.g., Bursal, 2013;Devine, Fawcett, Szűcs, & Dowker, 2012;Felson & Trudeau, 1991;Larson, Stephen, Bonitz, & Wu, 2013;Lee & Kung, 2018;OECD, 2016;Reilly, Neumann, & Andrews, 2015). In mathematical and science Olympiads on the other hand, we found large gender differences in favor of males in both participation and achievement that cannot be explained by typical gender differences in secondary school (OECD, 2016;UNESCO, 2017).…”

“…Resulting from gender stereotypes and in line with theoretical assumptions, among secondary school students gender differences in mathematics and science self‐concept in favor of males are found (Jansen et al, ; Lee & Kung, ; Makwinya & Hofman, ; Manger & Eikeland, ; Nagy et al, ; Rinn, Miner, & Taylor, ; Sax, Kanny, Riggers‐Piehl, Whang, & Paulson, ; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, ). These gender differences also existed in German and Singaporean top‐performing students (Cvencek et al, ; Preckel, Götz, Pekrun, & Kleine, ).…”

“…For instance, in a large-scale study Jansen et al (2014) investigated biology-, chemistry-, and physicsspecific self-concept among over 6,000 15-year-old German students and found a substantial positive relation between self-concept and achievement for each of these subjects (see also Sahranavard et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2008). This was also found for mathematics (e.g., Antunes & Fontaine, 2013;Cvencek et al, 2015;Lee & Kung, 2018;Ma & Kishor, 1997). In line with these findings, several studies identified self-concept, among other self-beliefs, to be a variable that influences participation and achievement in mathematics and science competitions.…”

“…Self-concepts in turn, are consequently to the social-cognitive theory, strongly related to an individual's achievement (Denissen, Zarrett, & Eccles, 2007). A wide range of studies have not only corroborated the BFLPE, but also found this positive relation of self-concept with achievement in mathematics and science (e.g., Antunes & Fontaine, 2013;Cvencek, Kapur, & Meltzoff, 2015;Jansen, Schroeders, & Lüdtke, 2014;Lee & Kung, 2018;Ma & Kishor, 1997;Sahranavard, Hassan, Elias, & Abdullah, 2012;Wang, Oliver, & Staver, 2008). Guided by this theoretical framework, Höffler et al (2017) and Chang and Lin (2017) found that also within a science Olympiad reference framework, participants' academic self-concept was significantly correlated with their academic achievement.…”

Efektivitas Pelatihan “Pede” (Pemaafan, Efikasi Diri, Dan Empati) Untuk Meningkatkan School Well-Being Siswa

“…Efikasi diri juga memiliki peran sebagai prediktor langsung bagi nilai (makna) tugas bagi siswa (Azar dkk., 2010;Keskin, 2014). Sehingga jika siswa merasa memiliki persepsi positif terhadap kemampuannya, maka siswa akan lebih mampu melakukan kegiatannya di sekolah, serta mendapatkan prestasi dan hasil akademis yang baik (Lee & Kung, 2018). untuk meningkatkan school well-being siswa Jurnal Psikologi Vol.18 No.2 Oktober 2019, 218-229 Peningkatan rerata tertinggi ditunjukkan aspek loving sebagai representasi hubungan sosial.…”