Architectures of Mathematics Beliefs: Individual and School-level Differences among Hong Kong Primary 6 Students

Abstract

Students’ beliefs influence their learning, so teachers can help students learn by cultivating constructive beliefs and amending harmful ones. Teacher influence is likely greater if student beliefs are loosely structured but weaker if student beliefs are coherent and tightly structured. We examined the structure of students’ beliefs by analyzing the questionnaire responses of 2,736 Hong Kong Primary 6 students. Students’ mathematics beliefs about formulas, learning by understanding, usefulness, easiness, and interest showed a strong and stable nested structure. This nested structure included a general factor and specific factors for formula, usefulness, easiness and interest. Individual differences accounted for most of the variation among student beliefs (on average, 92% at the student level and 8% at the school level). Several of these beliefs correlated with gender, tutoring, and time spent doing mathematics homework.