Math Homework Purpose Scale

Abstract

Abstract. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Math Homework Purpose Scale (MHPS). After randomly splitting the sample ( N = 854) into two subsamples ( n = 427 and n = 427), we carried out exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on subsample 1 and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on subsample 2. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin value of .88 indicated that EFA was appropriate for subsample 1. EFA results showed that a three-factor solution explained 72.2% of the variance. All ten of the MHPS items loaded quite substantially on three factors labeled Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking. CFA results further showed that the MHPS was composed of three factors: Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking. From this adequate level of measurement invariance, we further examined the latent mean difference across gender for the entire sample. Our findings showed no statistically significant mean differences in Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking across gender. In addition, the HMPS was found to have adequate alpha reliability coefficients and omega coefficients. Concerning the validity evidence of the MHPS, Academic, Self-Regulatory, and Approval-Seeking purposes were positively correlated with homework effort, homework completion, and math achievement. The present study provides solid evidence that the MHPS is a reliable and valid measurement of math homework purposes.

Student interest in mathematics homework: Do peer interest and homework approaches matter?

“…They spent a mean of 49.5 (SD = 30.7) min on mathematics assignments daily. The frequency and amount of mathematics homework in our study are similar to other studies carried out in China (Sun et al, 2020; Xu, 2022). Overall, the response rate was 92.3%.…”