The Influence of Attitudes and Beliefs on the Problem-Solving Performance

Abstract

The problem-solving performance of primary school students depend on their attitudes and beliefs. As it is not easy to change attitudes, we aimed to change the relationship between problem-solving performance and attitudes with a training program. The training was based on the assumption that self-generated external representations support the problem-solving process. Furthermore, we assumed that students who are encouraged to generate representations will be successful, especially when they analyze and reflect on their products. A paper-pencil test of attitudes and beliefs was used to measure the constructs of willingness, perseverance, and self-confidence. We predicted that participation in the training program would attenuate the relationship between attitudes and problem-solving performance and that non-participation would not affect the relationship. The results indicate that students’ attitudes had a positive effect on their problem-solving performance only for students who did not participate in the training.

Attitude of class nine and ten students towards solving mathematical word problems

“…The findings from Table 1 reveal the positive attitude of students toward mathematics problems similar to the findings in the study by (Arslan et al, 2014;Sturm & Bohndick, 2021) which was contradicting the findings of Emanuel et al (2021) carried in an Indonesian school. It was found negative attitudes in students and they found difficulties in solving word problems and also stated that only one-third of students have a positive attitude towards mathematics word problems (Marchiş, n.d.).…”

“…Accordingly, mathematical concepts of attitude are said to be a change in behavior aroused by the learners' beliefs and experiences towards mathematics learning (Mata et al, 2012). It was found that attitude and beliefs of learners correlated with the problem-solving performance and resulted in success when learners portrayed positive attitudes as per the findings in the research paper (Sturm & Bohndick, 2021). It was found that with raise in grades from 5th to 8th grade, the attitude towards problem-solving was found to decrease (Arslan et al, 2014).…”

An investigation on the effects of attitude towards algebraic problem-solving achievement

“…In educational research, perseverance (PE), self-confidence (SC), and willingness (WL) are the most influencing factors in mathematical problem solving. Many recent studies support the classification of attitudes into these three subcategories [15], [22].…”

The Validity and Reliability Study of the Primary 4th Grade Problem Solving Anxi

“…The literature shows that there are studies examining the effects of attitudinal factors on problem solving success. For example, some studies focused on the relationship between attitudes towards mathematics and problem solving achievement (Bakar, Mahyuddin, Elias & Ayup, 2020;Julius, 2022;Marchiş, 2013;;Sturm & Bohndick, 2021;Wakhataa, Mutarutinyaa & Balimuttajjo, 2023;). Valid and reliable scales have also been developed to determine attitudes towards problem solving (Awofala, 2014;Çanakçı & Özdemir 2011;Zakaria, Haron, & Daud, 2004).…”