Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM
Background of the Study
Learning as a transforming process of whatever information
received
and
internalized
or
experience
into
attitude,
value,
preferences, actions, skills, and knowledge that guide behavior.
Learning is also defined as the reconstitution of life experiences, prior
ideas, and knowledge that gives way to a change in behavior, mastery
of skills, and exposure of performance (Eric, 2019).
Motivation influences the way students acquire and apply
information acquired in schools (Kember,2000). Motivation also
determines how students gain experience in a particular subject
(Kriegbaum, Jansen, and Spinath, 2015). Fuqoha, Budiyono, and
Indriati (2018) report that "motivation has a function as stimulant
effort and achievement”. Motivated students tend to perform better
than those who are not interested in what is being taught in class.
Data from previous research show that student motivation influences
performance in a wide range of subjects, including Mathematics,
Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Languages (Abramovich, and
Grinshpan, 2008). Student performance in mathematics has been a
subject of research over the years (Abramovich et al., 2019). Attempts
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have also been made to identify and explore factors that may influence
how students perform mathematics. Some students perform poorly in
mathematics because they perceive the subject to be complicated and
tedious. Although these researchers have identified several strategies
that can help improve mathematics achievement, the number of
learners who perform poorly remains high. In spite of that, educators
are still expected to motivate their students and support them to record
improved performance in mathematics.
In Mathematics, motivation concepts can be implemented
through the development of appropriate hands-on activities and the
use of manipulative materials (Abramovich, Grinshpan, and Milligan,
2019). The activities are meant to enable students to understand and
integrate mathematics ideas and apply the information gained during
the lessons in solving real-world problems. The hands-on activities are
also meant to make the students think outside the box and develop
new knowledge about the subject. Teachers must always support their
students to master complex mathematics concepts (Ben-Eliyahu,
2019; Brunstein and Heckhausen, 2008). The lack of support will have
an adverse effect on the student’s level of motivation and influence
their academic performance. In some cases, educators need to use
digital technology to improve motivation levels among students and
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keep them engaged during classroom activities (Baharuddin et al.,
2018; Dalle and Mutalib, 2018; Derlina et al., 2018; Dalle et al., 2017).
Therefore, understanding the concept of motivation in mathematics is
critical for teachers and other practitioners in the education sector.
Various factors are involved in shaping the understanding and
learning of mathematics. However, one of the prerequisites for
understanding mathematics is interest in math and the desire of
learners to learn it. Therefore, it is necessary to further examine the
factors involved in motivating learners in learning mathematics. Class
and curriculum is one of the factors identified where learners thrive
when there is structure and struggle when there is chaos. When
students sense or see that classes follow a structure, and the
curriculum and class materials have been prepared beforehand, it
provides them with a greater sense of security. To help students feel
more secure, educators need to plan classes and curriculums. All
materials that will be used in class should be prepared in advance.
Educators can also state the objectives of a course or class at the
beginning of a semester or a class (Silva, 2020). An effective curriculum
provides
teachers,
students,
administrators
and
community
stakeholders with a measurable plan and structure for delivering a
quality education. The curriculum identifies the learning outcomes,
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standards, and core competencies that students must demonstrate
before advancing to the next level. Teachers play a key role in
developing, implementing, assessing, and modifying the curriculum.
An evidenced-based curriculum acts as a road map for teachers and
students to follow on the path to academic success (Cooper, 2018).
Another
factor
is
Teacher
competence,
behavior,
and
personality. If a student has a negative emotion such as fear or
disliking towards their teacher, that can negatively affect their attitude
toward the subject as a whole. If a teacher shows a preference towards
certain students or uses derogatory and humiliating language, that
can lower their motivation in learning. On the other hand, kindness,
optimism, positive feedback, and encouragement can positively affect
students’ motivation to learn (Silva, 2020). A professional Mathematics
teacher is one who helps the students develop in them the love for
numbers and make use of them with ease and confidence. This
expectancy would require of the teacher proficiency and competence in
number manipulations and problem solving. This will require him to
analyze, assess, relate, and implement existing mathematics curricula
and develop new ones (Flores, 2019). As such, he or she is expected to
devise, plan, organize, orchestrate, and carry out mathematics
teaching. This also includes creation of rich spectrum of teaching and
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learning situations; assessment, selection, and creation of teaching
materials; inspiring and motivating students; discussing curricula;
and justifying teaching and learning activities with students (Flores,
2019). All those mentioned competencies can only be possible if the
mathematics teachers possess the following characteristics: dedication
to teaching, knowledge of subject matter, classroom organization. and
management,
instructional
organization
and
management,
instructional implementation, and monitoring student progress and
potential. A competent mathematics teacher must know how to teach.
He should be a practitioner about effective teaching, just as he has a
good command of the medium of instruction. He explains the lessons
well. There is no substitute to education just as there is no substitute
to competent Mathematics teachers (Flores, 2019).
Learning environment or school climate is another factor that
affects motivation in education. Learning environment refers to
different norms and regulations that determine the overall climate in
the school. Positive learning environment makes students feel safe and
secure, meets their basic needs such as daily meals, and provides an
optimal environment for them to build healthy social relationships. Too
many classes and learning environment that’s too serious can also
lower motivation in education. Adding a fun element to classes can
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help to ease the atmosphere and improve motivation and results (Silva,
2020).
Learners are more likely to retain their motivation in education
if educators use different teaching methods. That creates diversity and
prevents students from getting bored. Giving room for certain choices
such as which partner they’d like to work with can be beneficial too
(Silva, 2020). Instructional strategies and practices are everything that
teachers use to aid learners in their learning process and are the
means to bring about effective teaching and learning (Amos, Folasayo
& Oluwatoyin, 2015). Obara and Okoh (2005) explain instructional
strategies as everything teachers utilize to interactively enhance,
motivate, and facilitate teaching and learning for the achievement of
set objectives. Teachers are constantly seeking innovative ways to
teach important information. When the information has been taught;
it is followed by an assessment of what the learners have learned. The
effectiveness of the strategies employed by teachers has a bearing on
how the learners perform. However, it is important to highlight that
the activities that teachers engage in have a bearing on the extent of
the knowledge gained by the learners in classroom interaction.
Quite a few parental habits and parent involvement can
indirectly affect the motivation of our learners, intrinsic motivation in
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particular. These includes showing interest in the child’s learning
material, inquiring about their day, actively listening, helping with
specific tasks or skills taught at school, attending parent meetings,
encouraging children to complete homework or study for a test (Silva,
2020). Parent-school partnership allows for the conceptualization of
roles and relationships and the impact on the development of children
in a broader way (Christenson and Reschly, 2010). From this
approach, families and schools are the main actors in the construction
of their roles and forms of involvement, generating new and varied
actions to relate to each other according to the specific educational
context. The main findings in the family-school field show a positive
influence of this partnership, contributing to academic achievement
and performance, among other positive consequences (Sebastian.,
et.al., 2017).
The
study
is
important
to
the
curriculum
makers,
administrators, teachers, and learners. The study will provide valuable
information to educational researchers, developers, and educational
planners so that they can further improve or enrich the mathematics
curriculum that is relevant and responsive to the educational needs of
learners.
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Teachers and administrators may desire valuable insight from
the study that may guide them as to what steps they will improve, not
only the mathematics instruction program but also learning efficiency
in mathematics discipline of pupils. It may trigger teachers to broaden
their knowledge, sharpen their teaching skills, and maximize the use
of creativity in delivering quality educational services to the learners.
With this study, teachers may bring their expertise to their
classroom and be actively sharing the knowledge they will gain from
the study. Teachers may also analyze the individual needs of the
learners or learning environments and adjust her/his actions to best
meet learners’ need.
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
This thesis was based on expectancy-value theory where
motivation is an internal state that initiates and maintains goaldirected behavior (Pintrich, 2003). According to expectancy-value
theory (Wigfield et al., 2016), motivation depends on students’ beliefs
about themselves (expectancies) and about the task (values).
Expectancies refer to students’ expectancies for success, or the belief
in their ability to succeed within a domain. Expectancies for success
are closely related to what other theories of motivation refer to as selfefficacy (Marsh et al., 2019; Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2016). For
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example, self-efficacy items might ask students how confident they are
that can understand the concepts taught in a course or that they can
turn complete their assignments on time (Zimmerman et al., 1992).
Expectancy-value theory also distinguishes among three types of
values: intrinsic value, utility value, and attainment value (Rosenzweig
et al., 2019). Intrinsic value refers to the enjoyment experienced by
performing a particular academic task (e.g., “I enjoy doing things in
math”); utility value refers to the extent to which an academic task fits
within a person’s current or future goals (e.g., “Math is useful for my
future”); and attainment value refers to the importance to the
individual of performing well on an academic task (e.g., “For me, being
good at math is important”, Weidinger et al., 2020). Intrinsic value and
utility value are somewhat related to aspects of
what self-
determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) refers to as intrinsic
motivation (i.e., acting for internal or personal reasons) and extrinsic
motivation (i.e., acting to receive external rewards), respectively.
Another theory was based on Brunner's (1996) theory of
instruction. In this theory, Brunner points out that a theory of
instruction is a prescription of rules for achieving knowledge or skills
and providing techniques for measuring or evaluating outcomes. This
theory facilitates the researcher with the factors that increases the
student learning mathematics. Brunner, argues that a theory of
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instruction is concerned with what one wishes to teach can best be
learnt. He specifies four salient features that the theory must embrace.
These include predisposition to learn, a group of knowledge structure,
hierarchy, and sequencing of (mathematics) content, and ability to
reward and reinforce learning effects. These teachers of mathematics
need to be adapted at all these four constituents of learning. To
Brunner (1996), with sufficient understanding of the structure of a
field
of
knowledge
more
advanced
concepts
can
be
taught
appropriately at much earlier ages. This is achieved by planning and
structuring learning experiences that arise the curiosity of the learner.
The theory further emphasizes that the experiences provided should
recognize the different levels of the learner's thinking. Brunner says
that it is the responsibility of the teacher to identify the concepts that
form the basic structure of the subject, in this case factors affecting
the performance in mathematics. This theory was chosen because it
provides knowledge on how teachers of mathematics can develop
cognitive abilities of learners by preparation of instructional products
and processes. The theory further guides the teacher in structuring
and sequencing of learning, activities, preparation before class
instruction includes content familiarization, lesson plan preparation
and sourcing of instructional resources.
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The Theory of Didactical Situations seeks to offer a model,
inspired by the mathematical theory of games, to investigate, in a
scientific way, the problems related to the teaching of mathematics and
the means to enhance it (Radford, 2008; Yuliani, 2016). MangianteOrsola, Perrin- Glorian and Stromskag (2018) contend that TDS
represents a didactical situation in which the focus is on the teacher
with the perspective of understanding how the students learn and how
the teacher helps them learn some mathematical content. In this way,
the teacher acts as a facilitator in a learning environment. In TDS
(Selman & Tapan-Broutin, 2018), the emphasis is to create a class
environment in which students act like scientists and/or researchers
in which they discover and produce. The environment for these
discoveries is facilitated and enhanced by the teacher. TDS also
provides an opportunity to isolate moments of instruction, action,
formulation, validation, and institutionalization in the mathematics
teaching and learning process (Wisdom, 2014).
Paradigm of the Study
The paradigm of the study illustrates the interrelationship of the
research variables namely: input, process and output as shown in the
Figure 1.
The input focused on the factors that affect learners’ motivation
in learning mathematics.
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The process includes the following: descriptive research design,
descriptive survey method, administration of the questionnaire,
statistical treatment of data, and analysis and interpretation of data.
The outputs were the proposed plan of action to increase
students learning mathematics.
PROCESS
-Descriptive
Research
Design
INPUT
- Descriptive
survey
method
Factors that
affect
learners’
motivation in
learning
mathematics
Administrati
on of the
questionnair
e
OUTPUT
Action Plan
to increase
learners
motivation
in learning
mathematics
.
-Statistical
Treatment of
Data
- Analysis
and
Interpretatio
Figure 1 paradigm of the Studyn of Data
Statement of the Problem
The main objective of the study was to identify factors and
conditions
that
mathematics.
motivate
and
encourage
learners
in
learning
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Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the level of effect of the factors that motivate learners
in learning Mathematics?
2. What is the degree of difficulty in addressing the factors that
motivate learners in learning Mathematics?
3. What is the level of effectiveness of the strategies that motivate
learners in learning Mathematics?
Research Hypotheses
The following are the null hypotheses arising from the study
which were tested:
1. There is no significant difference between the observations
of the respondents of District 5 and District 6 on the level of effect of
the factors that motivate learners in learning Mathematics.
2. There is no significant difference between the observations
of the respondents of District 5 and District 6 on the degree of difficulty
in addressing the factors that motivate learners in learning
Mathematics.
3. There is no significant difference between the observations
of the respondents of District 5 and District 6 on the level of
effectiveness of the strategies that motivate learners in learning
Mathematics.
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