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We examined the associations between the expressed mathematical beliefs of students and their self-regulated actions in solving mathematics problems. We conducted surveys and interviews that focused on students’ self-regulated problem solving and identified students’ self-reported beliefs about mathematics. Our findings suggest that even though students may possess rigid instrumental views about mathematics, they may still be able to achieve success by incorporating some general heuristics into their problem solving if they have first broadened their definition of mathematics to legitimize such activity. Instructional activities that allow students opportunities to share and defend their ideas for solving particular problems prior to actually solving them help students develop self-advocacy and contribute to a proactive sense of agency. Students need support to develop as self-regulated problem solvers. This can be achieved through coaching and one-on-one tutoring; however, it is difficult to achieve in classroom practice. For students to broaden their view of mathematics and what their role as a mathematical problem solver can be, they must be provided with ample problem-solving opportunities. Encouraging students to reflect on their problem solving helps promote the monitoring and assessment necessary for self-regulated learning to occur.

This paper presents an in‐depth cross‐case analysis of three high‐achieving young adolescent girls who had contrasting mathematics learning experiences during the first year of middle school. In particular, this study examines the foundation for their motivation, as well as the dominant mode of learning and academic engagement in relation to three sociocultural factors, family background, the role of peers, and the level of teachers' understanding of the students and instructional support provided. Our data analysis revealed that the three girls possessed motivation structures and learning dispositions that are more or less prone to conceptual or procedural understanding in mathematics. This resulted in a significant variation in the mode of their academic engagement with the subject, and this provided a different set of challenges in each girl's pursuit of higher level of mathematics learning.

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