Date
11-2020
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Vivian Jones
Keywords
Hispanic, Gender, Self-confidence, Enjoyment, Motivation, Math
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
McClammy, Leslie Marie, "Gender Differences in Hispanic High School Students' Attitudes toward Mathematics" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2715.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2715
Abstract
This study examined the difference in attitudes towards mathematics between male and female Hispanic students in a large Florida school system using the Attitudes Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI). This study is important because it studies a population that is underserved in the literature of mathematics pedagogy: the Hispanic high school student. The ATMI itself has mostly been used on college students. This is one of the earliest attempts to use it in a high school setting. Though the survey was available to all students in the cooperating schools, only surveys where the student self-identified as Hispanic were examined. The results were examined using a MANOVA in the SPSS statistical package. The result was that there was a statistically significant difference between Hispanic male and female students on the ATMI scales of Self-confidence and Enjoyment, with males enjoying the edge on each. There was no statistically significant difference between Hispanic male and female students on the ATMI scales of Value and Motivation. The conclusion is that though Hispanic female high school students appreciate the advantages of a rigorous math education, and despite their motivation to achieve, there is a disconnect when translating value and motivation into self-confidence and enjoyment. This study was limited by restrictions on the number of schools that allowed access to their students, by the fact that this was not a random sample, and the fact that there was nothing to prevent students from taking the survey more than one time. It is hoped that this will spark further research into the needs of Hispanic students. A larger, more comprehensive study is needed, which includes non-Hispanic students and allows a comparison between cultural groups.
