Effects of attitudes and beliefs on mathematics achievement

Abstract

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest and most ambitious study undertaken to date by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) (Beaton, Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez, Kelly, & Smith, 1996). The information collected and analyzed was based on a sample of over half a million students in five grades, in more than 15,000 schools in more than 40 countries around the world (Mullis, Martin, Beaton, Gonzalez, Kelly, & Smith, 1997). TIMSS had as its stated aim the measurement of student achievement in mathematics and science and the assessment of certain factors influencing learning in these subjects (Schmidt, McKnight, Valverde, Houang, & Wiley, 1997). Since the home and the school within which education takes place can play important roles in how students learn mathematics, TIMSS collected extensive information about these background factors.