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" Exploration of Mathematics Achievement among High School Students in Israel and the USA: A Multivariate Approach "
Rojhani, Leah
Drew, David E.
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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1052038
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TL51155
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| Main Entry
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Rojhani, Leah
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| Title & Author
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Exploration of Mathematics Achievement among High School Students in Israel and the USA: A Multivariate Approach\ Rojhani, LeahDrew, David E.
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| College
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The Claremont Graduate University
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| Date
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2019
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| student score
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2019
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| Note
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244 p.
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| Abstract
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Competence in math is more important than ever in our modern, high-tech era. However, the U.S. is falling behind many other countries in K-12 math education. This study investigates which variables are the strongest predictors of math success across two culturally different groups—American students and Israeli students. Existing research has attempted to explain various psychological factors that affect math achievement; however, newer research on implicit theories of intelligence states that these factors are influenced by core beliefs students hold about the nature of intelligence. Several studies indicate that cultural attitudes about schooling are a major factor that impacts achievement in countries with high performance in math. This study examined whether math achievement, the factors that predicted math achievement, and the levels of math socialization were different between the U.S. and Israel, and whether students with higher levels of math socialization performed better on a math test. It also explored the levels of math confidence and whether socialization about math differed by gender and by country. Finally, the study examined factors that predict math achievement and the causal pathways involved. Data sets were obtained from 1,750 public school students in grades 10-12, half from Los Angeles County and half from the Tel Aviv metro-area. Using a form of cluster-sampling, six schools were randomly selected from among a pool of twenty “average”-rated school with similar socioeconomic status (SES). The instruments used were a student survey primarily utilizing the Likert scale and a math test composed of PISA-released assessment items. All but one of the study’s hypotheses were confirmed. The latent variable that affected test performance most for both countries overall was Math Confidence, followed by Math Utility, Math Interest, Parental Encouragement, Math Teacher Competence, Teacher Math Forecasting, and Math Anxiety. Taking the countries individually, the top three predictors for American students were Total Math Semesters, Math Confidence, and Academic Path, and for Israeli students were Academic Path, Math Confidence, and Math Utility. A universal prediction model was developed using the results of both countries; the top three predictors were Academic Path, Total Math Semesters, and Math Confidence, in that order. Deeper analysis revealed that Israeli students had higher levels of Math Confidence, Math Utility, Parental Encouragement, Math Socialization and almost double the amount of Total Math Semesters, explaining why Israeli students performed better than American students on the study’s math test and confirming the impact of Israeli culture’s emphasis on STEM education and Israel’s lead in global rankings over the U.S. (when Arab and ultra-Orthodox schools are not included in the testing). In the path analysis for the U.S., the top three factors predicting test score were Parental Encouragement, Total Math Semesters, and Math Confidence, in that order. Math Performance (grades in math courses) was the number one predictor of Math Confidence. Parental Encouragement, a form of Math Socialization, was positively linked with Academic Path, Math Confidence, and Math Interest. Students in the U.S. reported higher levels of teacher competence than those in Israel. For the data from Israel, the top three factors predicting test score were Gender, Academic Path, and Math Confidence, in that order. Although some previous studies have found that the gender gap has disappeared, for both countries in this study there was a math confidence gender gap and test-score gap favoring males. The gender gap in Israel was much greater than that of the U.S., as being male correlated with a huge increase in the Math Confidence, Math Interest, and Academic Path variables. Math socialization levels of Israeli females were comparable to those of American males. When looking at the data from both countries together, several conclusions can be drawn. In Israel, Parental Encouragement had a negative relationship with Math Confidence, the opposite of the relationship of these variables in the U.S. This suggests the existence of a “sweet spot” for Parental Encouragement. Math Utility was a stronger predictor for Israel than for the U.S. Math Interest was one of the strongest predictors for American students, yet for Israeli students it did not even enter the equation. This may suggest that Israeli students study math out of extrinsic motivation. Israeli students reported remarkably higher levels of Math Socialization than did American students. For both countries, Math Socialization was positively correlated with test score. This finding reinforces previous research: success in math can be improved by expanding math socialization in the early stages of students’ development. This and the study’s other findings can be considered a starting point for future research.
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| Descriptor
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Education
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Educational psychology
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Mathematics education
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Drew, David E.
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The Claremont Graduate University
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