Den här studien fokuserar i första hand på att skapa förståelse kring hur musiklärare på gymnasiet upplever sina elevers övningsmotivation i individuella instrument- och sånglektioner. I andra hand riktar den in sig på att lyfta fram vilka motivationsverktyg musiklärare använder sig utav för att främja övning mellan individuella instrument- och sånglektioner. Studien uppkom genom att en problematik synliggjordes under den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen, nämligen att elever tenderade att inte öva mellan sina lektioner. Hermeneutik valdes som teoretiskt ramverk eftersom studien fokuserade på lärares förståelse, uppfattningar och upplevelser av sina elevers motivation. Genomförandet gjordes genom fem semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med musiklärare som samtliga hade olika huvudinstrument. I analysprocessen kunde musiklärarnas uppfattningar synliggöras och tolkas gentemot tidigare forskning. Musiklärarna upplevde att övningsmotivationen har sjunkit under de senaste tio till femton åren och att deras nuvarande elever övar mindre än vad deras tidigare elever gjorde. Informanterna kopplade den negativa trenden till olika aspekter så som sociala medier och hur dessa digitala verktyg kan påverka elevers kortsiktiga tänkande negativt. Utifrån studiens fynd skapades en modell i form av en motivationspyramid. I denna pyramid sattes motivationsskapande värdeord in som valdes utifrån informanternas motivationsstrategier. Modellen kan användas av pedagoger för att skapa en mer inkluderad och motiverad undervisningsmiljö för sina elever. I diskussionsdelen av studien diskuteras musiklärares roll för elevernas motivation, vilka didaktiska implikationer studien kan ha och förslag till vidare forskning. / This study focuses primarily on gaining an understanding of how secondary school music teachers experience their students' motivation to practice in individual instrument and vocal lessons. Secondly, it focuses on highlighting the motivational tools music teachers use to promote practice between individual instrument and vocal lessons. The study was prompted by a problem identified during the pre-service training, namely that students tended not to practice between their lessons. Hermeneutics was chosen as the theoretical framework because the study focused on teachers' understandings, perceptions and experiences of their students' motivation. It was conducted through five semi-structured qualitative interviews with music teachers, all of whom played different main instruments. The analysis process allowed the perceptions of the music teachers to be made visible and interpreted against previous research. The music teachers felt that motivation to practice has declined over the past ten to fifteen years and that their current students practice less than their previous students did. The informants linked the negative trend to various aspects such as social media and how these digital tools can negatively affect students' short-term thinking. Based on the findings of the study, a model in the form of a motivation pyramid was created. In this pyramid, motivational value words were inserted that were chosen based on the informants' motivational strategies. The model can be used by educators to create a more inclusive and motivated learning environment for their students. The discussion section of the study discusses the role of music teachers in student motivation, the didactic implications of the study, and suggestions for further research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate project managers´ perceptions of the importance of motivation within real estate projects. The study also aimed to examine how project managers promote and maintain motivation amongst project members. Real estate projects referred to projects for renovation, conversion, or new construction of properties. A qualitative research method was employed for data collection through semi-structured interviews. Nine project managers working in the Swedish real estate industry were interviewed. Subsequently, a thematic analysis of the collected data was conducted. The thematic analysis resulted in three themes formulated as Success factor versus Upward Push, The art of motivating and Motivation per circumstance. The results indicate that project managers perceive motivation as a positive driving force in real estate projects. It is considered important for both project managers and project members to be motivated. Furthermore, the results show that the perception of the significance of motivation within real estate projects is divided. Some project managers perceive motivation as critical for the success of a project, while others believe that real estate projects are often influenced by external circumstances that are more decisive for the outcome of the project. Motivation is therefore considered in those cases rather to add an extra edge to the projects. To promote and maintain motivation amongst project members, project managers believe it is important to build personal relationships, work with feedback and encourage the expression of opinions.

Motivations, Attitudes and Modern Languages. A study of students’ motivational processes and attitudes while learning foreign languages. This doctoral thesis investigates students’ motivational processes and attitudes while studying and learning foreign languages (FLs). Students were asked about their choice of FL, and what had motivated them during their many years of studies. The study analyzes open-ended questionnaires and interviews with 43 students enrolled in the last year of foreign language studies in two schools, limiting its focus to the three most commonly studied FLs – French, German and Spanish. The theoretical framework of the thesis draws on sociocognitive theory (Bandura 1997; Linnenbrink & Pintrich 2002). Several informants refer to motivation in terms that could be related to intrinsic motivation. They have chosen to continue studying their particular target language due to an emotional state which could be related to enjoyment, pleasure and curiosity (Deci & Ryan 1985). Another salient feature is the frequent reference to mastery goals. Many of the informants express a motivation directed towards mastery and growth, or a main goal to be fluent or communicatively competent in their target language. Several informants also underline the motivational importance of experiencing competence, success and development. They become motivated by experiencing self-efficacy (Bandura 1997). This self-efficacy is rooted in experience of success, but also in being encouraged by significant others or role models, i.e. family members and friends. Despite a frequent awareness of the weakening general interest for FL, most students have a supportive network. Likewise, family and friends play a crucial role for many informants while choosing their target language initially. This key factor interacts with other important factors, such as the experiences of visiting countries or settings where the target language is used. In this context, target language attitudes tend to be important when choosing language and pursuing studies.

This thesis provides a study of an open source software project that focuses on the software development of an e-service in a municipal context. The focus is on environmental factors that either limit or promote the motivation to participate in the open source project, the "Parent-Teacher Meeting" project, a web-based communication and information channel whose purpose is to enhance the contacts between schools and parents. The empirical context is situated at the point where traditional information systems (IS) development meets new perspectives regarding organizational structures and boundaries and, as such, provides example of ongoing cross-organizational activities that break current local organizational standards. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of motivational factors for participation and adopts a sociocultural view on the topic motivation to participate. The empirical material was collected through interviews, conversations, and meetings. Being a subproject (i.e. an initiative to develop an open source software application) within a triple helix project I found an extensive number of stakeholders. The choice was made to focus on the application development; thereby a central group of participants within the development project team was found and these became the focus within the study. Moreover, I have, in this thesis, chosen to conduct a contextual description of the participants and the course of events that lead to the start of the project of study. This has been done so as to present the context, which is the focus for this study, to the reader and to be able to use these descriptions within the analysis. I have, methodologically, approached the problem from a descriptive angle with an interpretative character using a qualitative case study design. Within the thesis, the means by which the case study has been conducted is presented; i.e. the decision regarding research focus, design, and my role as researcher. In relation to the data collection, the main source has been semi-structured interviews, which is consistent with an interpretive case study character and in which my intent is to highlight conditions and events that are important to both groups within the development team. To support the investigation of those factors that can explain and assist with the interpretation of my empirical data, my description and interpretations are built on a theoretical framework based on concepts from IS theories and theories relating to human motivation. The framework, self-determination theory (SDT), is used as a lens to direct the focus onto the situated conditions that influence how individuals experience their participation within the software development project. Given the theoretical basis of an analytical comparison of ideal types of software development constructs, together with influences from motivational theories, the analytical framework used for collecting occurrences of motivational behavior and sociocultural conditions has been constructed. After the findings and my interpretation of them with the assistance of my analytical framework have been presented, a discussion and conclusions are then detailed. The conclusions of the study are argued as being relevant as an explanation for the understanding of intrinsic and internalized extrinsic motivation to participate in a hybrid open source projects. The study contributes to our understanding of some of the challenges that are to be considered when putting together and managing systems or software development processes. In this way, the study may provide some basis for improving and meeting new demands regarding how development is adopted in a mixed scenario and this provides valuable knowledge to both practice and IS research. / Grunden för denna avhandling är en studie av ett öppen källkodsutvecklingsprojekt av en kommunal e-tjänst. Fokus ligger på ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på kontextuella faktorer vilka endera hindrar eller främjar motivation för deltagande. Öppen källkodsprojektet ”Föräldramötet” är en webbaserad kommunikations- och informationskanal vars syfte är att öka och förbättra kontakten mellan hem och skola. Denna empiriska kontext är situerad i en punkt där traditionell IS-utveckling möter nya perspektiv på organisationsstrukturer och gränser samt därigenom ger exempel på pågående tvärorganisatoriska aktiviteter vilka bryter mot nuvarande interna organisationsstandarder. Målet för denna studie är att nå en djupare förståelse för deltagandets motivationsfaktorer och anammar ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på ämnet deltagandemotivation. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom intervjuer, konversationer samt möten. Då Föräldramötetprojektet är ett underprojekt i ett trippelhelixsammanhang visade det sig initialt finnas ett stort antal intressenter. Det gjordes ett val att fokusera på applikationsutvecklingen; genom vilket en central grupp av deltagare inom utvecklingsprojektet identifierades vilka kom att komma i fokus för denna studie. Vidare har jag i denna avhandling valt att göra en kontextuell beskrivning av deltagarna och den händelsekedja som lett fram till bildandet av det studerade projektet. Detta gjordes för att i enlighet med denna studies fokus belysa sammanhanget för läsaren samt för att använda den inom min analys. Jag har närmat mig problemet från en deskriptiv synvinkel med en tolkande karaktär användande mig av en kvalitativ fallstudiemetod. Inom avhandlingen beskrivs tillvägagångssättet för fallstudiens utförande, t.ex. hur beslut fattats angående forskningsfokus, fallstudiedesign och vad min roll som forskare inneburit. I relation till datainsamlingen, har den huvudsakliga källan varit halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa har varit i konsekvens med en uttolkande fallstudiemetod och har i enlighet med min avsikt utformats för att belysa villkor och händelser som har varit betydande för bägge grupperingarna inom projektgruppen. För att stödja undersökningen av de faktorer som kan förklara och hjälpa med tolkningen av mina empiriska data, har jag byggt mina beskrivningar och tolkningar på ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på koncept från IS-teorier och teorier relaterade till mänsklig motivation. Det teoretiska ramverket ”self-determination theory” (SDT), används som en lins för att rikta brännpunkten mot de villkor som styr hur individer upplever deras deltagande inom det studerade mjukvaruutvecklingsprojektet. Givet den teoretiska bas, som bygger på analytisk karaktärisering av idealtyper av mjukvaruutvecklingsmodeller sammantaget med influenser från motivationsteorier, har ett analytiskt ramverk, för att inhämta instanser av motiverat beteende och sociokulturella villkor, utvecklats. Efter att ha redogjort för upptäckterna och mina tolkningar av dem, med hjälp av mitt analytiska ramverk, presenteras en detaljerad diskussion med slutsatser. Jag argumenterar för att dessa slutsatser är relevanta som en förklaring för förståelsen av inre samt internaliserad yttre motivation för deltagande inom detta öppen källkodsprojekt av hybridnatur. Studien bidrar till vår förståelse för vissa av de utmaningar som måste beaktas när man ska hantera system eller utvecklingsprocesser. På detta sätt kan studien bidra med en bas för att förbättra och möta nya krav på hur utveckling bedrivs i blandade miljöer och även med kunskap för både praktik och IS-forskning. / PECOI

Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-18T19:01:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos-Faco.pdf: 2084909 bytes, checksum: 9c6c6be1e3cc4ca6a8bfed1c8e9be036 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / In the actual competitive scenario the higher education institutions have been forced to become more active in recruiting students due to the reduction in candidates for its courses. Print advertising are important components in the educational services communications campaigns and, thus, they are an important focus of research. The literature on services communication suggests that the use of cues, as the installations picture and testimonial, presents an observable way to tangibilize educational services offers. We relate the cue paradigm theory as evaluative indicators of a product, with two of the four advertising strategies, with the objective to investigate the impact of the cues in the printed educational services ad¿s in relation to the consumers attitudes. More specifically, to investigate the impact of the physical representation strategy (installations picture - an intrinsic cue), and the association strategy (testimonial - an extrinsic cue), in the consumers attitudes toward the advertisement, the brand and the purchase intention. With this purpose an experiment between subjects with 123 students was carried through, with four levels of manipulation. In relation to consumer attitudes, none of the analyzed strategies presented a significative superiority in relation one with another. However, the subjects with low involvement in the value/auto-image dimension had presented more favorable attitudes in relation to the purchase intention in the presence of the advertising using a testimonial (association strategy - an extrinsic cue). / No atual cenário competitivo as instituições de ensino superior têm sido forçadas a tornarem-se mais ativas no recrutamento de alunos devido à redução de candidatos para seus cursos. Anúncios impressos são elementos importantes nas campanhas de comunicação de serviços educacionais e, assim, são um importante foco de pesquisa. A literatura sobre comunicação de serviços sugere que a utilização de pistas, como a fotografia das instalações e testemunhal, fornece um meio observável de tornar tangível uma oferta como a dos serviços educacionais. Relacionamos a teoria que aborda o paradigma das pistas como indicadores avaliativos de um produto, com duas das quatro estratégias de propaganda, com o objetivo de investigar qual é o impacto das pistas nos anúncios impressos de serviços educacionais em relação às atitudes dos consumidores. Mais especificamente, investigar qual o impacto da estratégia da representação física (fotografia das instalações - uma pista intrínseca), e da estratégia da associação (testemunhal - uma pista extrínseca), nas atitudes dos consumidores em relação ao anúncio, à marca e à intenção de compra. Com esta finalidade foi realizado um experimento entre sujeitos com 123 estudantes, com quatro níveis de manipulação. Em relação às atitudes dos consumidores, nenhuma das estratégias analisadas apresentou uma superioridade significativa em relação às demais. Porém, os sujeitos com baixo envolvimento na dimensão valores/auto-imagem apresentaram atitudes mais favoráveis com relação à intenção de compra perante o anúncio com testemunhal (estratégia da associação ¿ uma pista extrínseca).

The aim of the study was to investigate whether statistically and practically significant positive relationships exist between intrinsic motivation, social support and work engagement of shift workers in a South African Chemical Company. The expected outcome was to find statistically and practically significant positive correlations between these variables for these workers. A cross sectional survey was conducted among a sample of 207 shift workers from a South African Chemical Company. Data was collected by means of existing standardised and validated questionnaires, to measure intrinsic motivation (six-item measure) validated by Kuvaas and Dysvik, 2009, perceived social support (Work Experiences Scale, May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004), and work engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Henn & Barkhuizen, 2009; Shimazu & Schaufeli, 2009). The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients. The results showed that there were statistically and practically significant positive relationships between these variables for this sample group / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

<p>Vr&scaron;eno je istraživanje intestinalnih nematoda žutogrlog mi&scaron;a (<em>Apodemus flavicollis&nbsp; </em>Melchior, 1834) uzorkovanog sa 18 lokaliteta na teritoriji Srbije, južno od Save i Dunava, sa ciljem pro&scaron;irenja i upotpunjavanja saznanja o ovoj komponenti parazitofaune glodara u ovom delu Evrope. Fauna nematoda crevnog trakta je analizirana sa vi&scaron;e aspekata: kvantitativnog, aspekta zajednica, biolo&scaron;kog, aspekta biodiverziteta i aspekta polne strukture. Pored toga, ispitan je uticaj odabranih<br />spolja&scaron;njih i unutra&scaron;njih faktora na prevalencu i abundancu parazitske infekcije.</p><p>Zabeleženo je prisustvo devet vrsta intestinalnih nematoda, pri čemu je broj vrsta po lokalitetu varirao od 1 do 7. Ukupna prevalenca infekcije iznosila je 81,6%. Najče&scaron;će vrste u uzorku bile su <em>Heligmosomoides polygyrus </em>i&nbsp;<em> Syphacia stroma</em>, koje su<br />se odlikovale najvi&scaron;im prevalencama i intenzitetima infekcije. Distribucija nematoda unutar domaćina je bila agregirana. Broj vrsta po domaćinu varirao je od 1 do 5, ali su najzastupljenije bile infekcije jednom ili dvema vrstama. Najče&scaron;ća kombinacija<br />vrsta bila je&nbsp;<em> H. polygyrus-S. stroma;</em> međutim, odsustvo podataka iz ranijih istraživanja i adekvatnih polaznih modela sprečava dono&scaron;enje zaključaka o mogućim interakcijama i asocijacijama između vrsta.</p><p>Monoksene nematode su bile brojnije i imale veću prevalencu od heteroksenih nematoda, &scaron;to oslikava&nbsp; razlike u njihovim životnim ciklusima. Među monoksenim nematodama, geohelminti u užem smislu su se odlikovali najvećim prevalencama, a ageohelminti najvećom abundancom, u skladu sa životnim strategijama koje teže ka disperziji ili akumulaciji.&Scaron;enonov indeks diverziteta cele uzoračke populacije iznosio je 1,44 &scaron;to je visoka vrednost u odnosu na one iz drugih delova Evrope. Nije uočena značajna negativna korelacija između udaljenosti lokaliteta i vrednosti Sorensenovog indeksa,ukazujući da je prostorni faktor značajan u strukturiranju zajednica intestinalnih nematoda i na lokalnom nivou. Odnos polova je bio neravnomeran, uglavnom u korist ženki, u skladu sa podacima drugih autora. Ženke su ujedno bile krupnije od mužjaka, saglasno sa ranijim nalazima za parazitske nematode. Nadmorska visina nije uticala na abundancu intestinalnih nematoda. Pol domaćina je uticao na prevalencu dve vrste: prevalenca&nbsp; <em>S. stroma</em>&nbsp; je bila veća kod mužjaka, a prevalenca<em> Trichuris muris</em>&nbsp; kod ženki. Kao značajan faktor uticao je na abundancu samo kod vrste&nbsp;<em> Aonchotheca annulosa</em>; abundanca ove vrste bila je veća kod mužjaka. Rezultati sugeri&scaron;u da je uticaj pola domaćina na nivo parazitske infekcije izuzetno kompleksan fenomen.&nbsp; Prevalenca i abundanca infekcije intestinalnim nematodama je bila veća kod domaćina sa B hromozomima.&nbsp; Lokalitet je bio značajan faktor u variranju abundance nematoda. Uzrast i prisustvo drugih vrsta nematoda su&nbsp; takođe ispoljavali značajan efekat. Povećanje abundance nematoda sa uzrastom&nbsp; se vezuje za dužu izloženost starijih jedinki parazitima. Iako je registrovan uticaj abundance jedne vrste na abundancu druge, on ne predstavlja čvrst dokaz za postojanje interakcija između vrsta.</p> / <p>A study of intestinal nematode parasites was conducted on the yellow-necked mouse (<em>Apodemus flavicollis&nbsp;</em> Melchior, 1834) sampled from 18 sites from Serbia south of the Sava and Danube rivers. The aim of the study was to broaden and enrich the data on this category of rodent parasites in this part of Europe. The nematode fauna of the gastrointestinal tract was analysed from quantitative, community, biological, biodiversity and sex ratio aspects. In addition, selected extrinsic and intrinsic factors were tested for their influence on the prevalence and abundance of infection.</p><p>Nine species of&nbsp; intestinal nematodes were noted, 1 to 7 per site. Total sample prevalence was 81.6%. <em>Heligmosomoides polygyrus</em>&nbsp; and&nbsp; <em>Syphacia stroma</em> were the most common species, with the highest prevalence and intensity values. Nematodes were aggregated within their hosts. Infracommunity richness varied from 1 to 5, but infections with one or two species were most common. The most frequent<br />combination&nbsp; of species was <em>H. polygyrus-S. stroma</em>, but in absence of prior research and adequate null models, conclusions of possible interactions and associations between species could not be drawn.</p><p>Monoxenous nematodes were more abundant and prevalent than heteroxenous species, reflecting the differences in their life cycles. Of the monoxenous nematodes, geohelminths<em> sensu stricto</em> had the highest prevalence values, whereas ageohelminths were most abundant, with respect to their life strategies that favour either dispersal or accumulation. Shannon&rsquo;s diversity index for the total sample was 1.44, a high value compared to those from other European based studies. A significant negative correlation between site distance and Sorensen index values was not found, implying that spatial factors have an important role in structuring intestinal nematode communities on a local scale. Sex ratio was generally female-biased, in agreement with data from other authors. In addition, females were larger than males, congruent with previous findings for parasitic nematodes.</p><p>Elevation did not significantly influence intestinal nematode abundance. Host sex influenced the prevalence of two species: for <em>S. stroma</em> prevalence was higher in males, and for <em>Trichuris muris</em> in females. Influence of host sex on abundance was found only for <em>Aonchotheca annulosa</em>, with abundances of this parasite higher in male mice. The results suggest that the effectof host sex on parasite infection levels is a highly complex phenomenon.&nbsp; Infection prevalence and abundance was higher in hosts that carried B chromosomes. Site was a significant factor in explaining variations in nematode abundance. Hostage and presence of other nematode species&nbsp; also exibited effects.&nbsp; An increase in nematode abundance with host age&nbsp; is explained by prolonged exposure to parasites in older host individuals. Although results indicate that the abundance of one species influences the abundance of another, this is not firm evidence of the existence of species interactions.</p>

Elevers motivation samt kunskapsmässiga och framtida mål i spanska undersöks utifrån enkätsvar från 77 gymnasieelever i steg 3 och 4 samt intervjuer med två elever i steg 5. Arbetets teoretiska ramverk utgörs av tre motivationsteorier: self-determination theory (Deci &amp; Ryan, 1985) med begreppen inre och yttre motivation, the socio-educational model (Gardner, 2001) med begreppet integrativ motivation och L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2009) med begreppet ideal L2 self. Resultatet visar att cirka hälften av informanterna känner sig motiverade av att läsa spanska och det är främst på grund av yttre betingad motivation via meritpoäng och betyg. Dock har runt två tredjedelar som mål att resa till spansktalande länder och prata med målspråkstalare, som kan härledas till en integrativ motivation. Drygt hälften av informanterna tror att de kommer kunna bra spanska i framtiden, vilket indikerar en stark framtidsinriktad språklig självbild. / Students’ motivation, knowledge targets and future goals in Spanish are studied based on questionnaires completed by 77 students enrolled in stage 3 and stage 4, as well as interviews with two students in stage 5. The theoretical framework consists of three motivational theories: Self-determination theory (Deci &amp; Ryan, 1985) with the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, the socio-educational model (Gardner, 2001) with the concept of integrative motivation and L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2009) with the concept of ideal L2 self. The result shows that nearly half of the respondents feel motivated studying Spanish, mainly due to extrinsic motives, such as merit points and grades. Furthermore, about two-thirds aim to travel to Spanish-speaking countries and communicate with target language speakers, which is considered an integrative motivation. About half of the respondents believe that they will speak Spanish well in the future, which indicates a strong future-oriented self-image in their language study.

The aversion to the study of mathematics and the resultant poor performance by students generally cannot be overemphasized and this still poses a great threat to the needed skills in the science, technology and commerce sector in South Africa. This study therefore tends to explore the importance of Mathematics to students and the economy globally by focusing on which contributive psychological factors are responsible for low performance in mathematics among Pre degree students as a case study. In addition also, the teaching and learning strategies used in the classroom that will help curb mathematics anxiety among students will be looked into. Furthermore a test to ascertain if poor teaching methods or pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics’ teachers influence anxiety thereby leading to poor performance in mathematics will be carried out. By utilizing a mixed method approach, an integration of the qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study attempted to provide an insight into the poor performances in Mathematics by Pre-degree students in a Private Institution of higher learning by exploring the following affective domains: 1) Anxiety 2) Motivation (lack of either the Internal & External type) and also considering the teaching strategies adopted on the other hand. The theoretical framework applied to this study was three fold in nature, namely, to investigate the nature of the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement on one side, secondly, to investigate the nature of the relationship between motivational orientation and mathematics achievement on the other side. Finally, it will investigate the relationship between teaching methods and mathematics achievement. The major findings that emanated from this study were as follows: there is a strong impact of the affective factors (anxiety, beliefs, emotions and motivation) on mathematics learning and success rates among Pre-degree students in South Africa. This study shows the importance of affective factors (such as anxiety, negative attitude, lack of motivation) in determining the success and or failure of mathematics learning, with the intention of promoting and encouraging positive traits, attitudes and beliefs in the students. The issue of teaching strategies was however not of a strong impact on success rates in bridging mathematics among the students as their lecturers were commended to be on top of their subject, but only that strategies to teaching mathematics must be dynamic, effective and varied as much as possible to meeting the students diverse learning styles . / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)

The aversion to the study of mathematics and the resultant poor performance by students generally cannot be overemphasized and this still poses a great threat to the needed skills in the science, technology and commerce sector in South Africa. This study therefore tends to explore the importance of Mathematics to students and the economy globally by focusing on which contributive psychological factors are responsible for low performance in mathematics among Pre degree students as a case study. In addition also, the teaching and learning strategies used in the classroom that will help curb mathematics anxiety among students will be looked into. Furthermore a test to ascertain if poor teaching methods or pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics’ teachers influence anxiety thereby leading to poor performance in mathematics will be carried out. By utilizing a mixed method approach, an integration of the qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study attempted to provide an insight into the poor performances in Mathematics by Pre-degree students in a Private Institution of higher learning by exploring the following affective domains: 1) Anxiety 2) Motivation (lack of either the Internal & External type) and also considering the teaching strategies adopted on the other hand. The theoretical framework applied to this study was three fold in nature, namely, to investigate the nature of the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement on one side, secondly, to investigate the nature of the relationship between motivational orientation and mathematics achievement on the other side. Finally, it will investigate the relationship between teaching methods and mathematics achievement. The major findings that emanated from this study were as follows: there is a strong impact of the affective factors (anxiety, beliefs, emotions and motivation) on mathematics learning and success rates among Pre-degree students in South Africa. This study shows the importance of affective factors (such as anxiety, negative attitude, lack of motivation) in determining the success and or failure of mathematics learning, with the intention of promoting and encouraging positive traits, attitudes and beliefs in the students. The issue of teaching strategies was however not of a strong impact on success rates in bridging mathematics among the students as their lecturers were commended to be on top of their subject, but only that strategies to teaching mathematics must be dynamic, effective and varied as much as possible to meeting the students diverse learning styles . / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)