Date of Award

4-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum & Instruction

First Advisor

Shashidhar Belbase

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the factors affecting mathematics achievement of eighth grade students in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 2015) and to determine mathematics teachers' perceptions of TIMSS in Abu Dhabi Emirate schools. The first part of the study sample consisted of 4,838 students of grade eight (2,172 girls, 2,666 boys) and 156 respective school principals, and 220 mathematics teachers from Abu Dhabi, who attended TIMSS 2015. Study data was obtained from TIMSS 2015 student, teacher, school questionnaires, as well as cognitive test scores for mathematics. The second part of the study included data from 522 mathematics teachers from Abu Dhabi gathered through a perception questionnaire to examine their perception of TIMSS in four areas viz. Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of TIMSS, Mathematics Teachers’ Practices of TIMSS, Readiness of Students for TIMSS, and School and Classroom Environment for TIMSS.
Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce the number of item-wise variables into a few composite variables for student, teacher, and school questionnaires from TIMSS 2015. Prior to further analyses, the suitability of the PCA was assessed. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) overall measures were 0.77 for the school questionnaire, 0.94 for the student questionnaire, and 0.88 for the teacher questionnaire, and Bartlett's sphericity tests were statistically significant (pOne-Sample t-test, Independent Sample t-test, and ANOVA tests were performed for each component variable of teacher perceptions. The results showed a statistically significant difference in the overall perception of TIMSS-related practices by teachers. The independent t-test showed no significant difference between male and female teachers in mathematics teaching practices of TIMSS, and neither were their perceptions of student readiness of TIMSS significantly different. The result, however, showed they had significantly different perceptions of the school and classroom environment. In addition, statistically, results showed no significant difference between public and private schools in the practice of mathematics teachers for TIMSS. Still, the difference was significant in views regarding student readiness for TIMSS and the school and classroom environment. Performance indicators showed that students’ results in TIMSS tended to fall annually. Thus, there is a need to enhance and improve activities related to the student, teacher, and school-related factors by creating an ideal learning environment for students to improve their academic achievement in TIMSS.

Arabic Abstract


العوامل المؤثرة في إنجازات طلاب الصف الثامن في الرياضيات في TIMSS 2015 في إمارة أبوظبي

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تحديد العوامل التي تؤثر على تحصيل طلاب الصف الثامن في الرياضيات في دراسة الاتجاهات الدولية في الرياضيات والعلوم (TIMSS,2015) وتحديد تصورات معلمي الرياضيات عن TIMSS‏ في مدارس إمارة أبوظبي. يتكون الجزء الأول من عينة الدراسة من 4838 طالباً في الصف الثامن (2172 فتاة، 2666 فتى) و156‏ مدير مدرسة، و220 معلماً للرياضيات من أبوظبي، حضروا TIMSS 2015. تم الحصول على بيانات الدراسة من TIMSS 2015 طالب، مدرس، واستبيانات المدرسة، وكذلك درجات الاختبار المعرفي للرياضيات. تضمن الجزء الثاني من الدراسة بيانات من 522 معلماً للرياضيات من أبوظبي تم جمعها من خلال استبيان تصور لفحص تصورهم لـ TIMSSفي أربعة مجالات. تصورات معلمي الرياضيات عن TIMSS،‏ وممارسات معلمي الرياضيات لـTIMSS، واستعداد الطلاب لـ TIMSS، وبيئة المدرسة والفصول الدراسية لـTIMSS تم تطبيق تحليل المكون الرئيسي (PCA) لتقليل عدد المتغيرات من حيث العناصر إلى عدد قليل من المتغيرات المركبة للطلاب والمعلمين واستبيانات المدرسة من TIMSS 2015. قبل إجراء مزيد من التحليلات، تم تقييم مدى ملاءمة PCA. كانت مقاييس Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) الإجمالية 0.77 لاستبيان المدرسة، و94%. لاستبيان الطالب، و 0.88 لاستبيان المعلم، وكانت اختبارات Bartlettالكروية ذات دلالة إحصائية (P

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