Beliefs about mathematics and mathematical problem solving of Thai students: relationships to students' giftedness and subject major.

Abstract

The objective is to investigate the beliefs about mathematics and mathematical problem solving of Thai students at the high school and the university levels. This study also examines whether students’ giftedness in science and their subject major is related to the mathematicsrelated beliefs. Methods: Undergraduate first-year students at a Thai university (n = 232) and students at a Thai high school (n = 197) were asked to complete a questionnaire, adapted from the Indiana Mathematics Beliefs Scales Coupled with the Fennema-Sherman Usefulness Scale. Results: Scale reliability analysis conducted separately for the two groups indicates similar results as the past studies validated the scales. The mean score of the scales were similar to those form the past published studies, except two scales. Through two-way between-participants ANOVAs,significant differences are identified between the iniversity students and the high school students in three scales. The high school students who are very gifted in science and studying at a special science high school scored significantly higher in two beliefs scales but lower in one scale than the college students majoring in engineering at one of the top universities in the country. Significant differences are found between the male and female students in the other three scales. Conclusions: This research demonstrates the reliability of the measurement and its applicability to non-Western population. The findings also suggest some characteristics of mathematics-related beliefs of Thai students. It appears that both students’ giftedness in science and their subject major are related to mathematics-related beliefs.