This study was conducted to determine if varying amounts of mathematics preparation and varying attitudes toward mathematics by teachers had a significant effect on the mathematics performance of their eighth grade students. Mathematics preparation was determined by the total number of college credits a teacher had accumulated and attitude toward mathematics was determined by a survey using the Revised Math Attitude Scale authored by Aiken and Dreger in 1961. In addition to mathematics preparation and attitude, the teacher characteristics of sex, age, years of experience, ethnicity, and type of certification were also observed and analyzed in relation to student performance. The sample population consisted of 30 eighth grade teachers from 10 middle schools in a large southwestern metropolitan school district and their 1,368 students. Student performance was measured by using the student math scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. All variables in the study were tested at the .05 level of confidence using multiple regression and analysis of variance. None of the variables were significant predictors of student performance when the teachers were analyzed as an entire group. When divided into subgroups by student achievement levels, teachers with greater amounts of preparation had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence with high achievement students; teachers with high attitudes toward mathematics had a significant effect at the .05 level of confidence for students of medium achievement. All other variables were insignificant for the subgroups. Conclusions were drawn that the individual teacher characteristics examined were not significant predictors of student performance unless students were grouped by achievement levels. This indicated that "more" in terms of math preparation for teachers or the concept of being a specialist at the middle school level was not a significant predictor of teacher effectiveness.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/183781 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | Reed, William Donald |
| Contributors | Allen, Paul M., Barnes, William Donald, Clark, Donald C., Nelson, Larry, Sacken, Donal |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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