A Quantitative Examination of Community College Students' Self-efficacy Inside Mathematics Pathways


Book Description

The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the change in mathematics self-efficacy of students enrolled in a college mathematics course at a community college in Missouri. The change was measured over a single semester as a pre-test and post-test. The timing of this study is significant, given that it follows statewide changes in college mathematics curriculum. The changes made to Missouri college-level mathematics courses were done in an effort to increase student retention and completion of general education mathematics credit in the state, which had been a barrier for graduation. This study outlines how mathematics self-efficacy is one measure that may be used to assess how the new courses impact students. The data from a mathematics self-efficacy survey, administered to students during Fall 2019 and Spring 2021 semesters, were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tested for significance using t-tests and ANOVA. Changes in mathematics self-efficacy were examined based on whether or not the student was enrolled in an optimal mathematics course for their degree, gender, ethnicity, high school grade point average, and overall college mathematics course enrollment. Findings showed that there were significant differences in the change in mathematics self-efficacy based on gender, ethnicity, high school grade point average, developmental math course enrollment, and optimal mathematics pathway course enrollment. Students enrolled in a general education mathematics course for the fall of 2019 had an overall increase in mathematics self-efficacy. Male students showed greater overall mathematics self-efficacy at the start of the semester; gender was a significant factor in how much mathematics self-efficacy changed. White students had an overall significant increase in mathematics self-efficacy. Other groups with a significant increase were students with a high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher and students enrolled in a three credit-hour developmental mathematics course. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in obstacles that led to less robust data collection following the pandemic. Therefore, the Spring of 2021 data were not sufficient to aid in some of this research study. This research fills a gap in the literature on the mathematics self-efficacy of Missouri mathematics college students, but further research is needed.




Mathematics Self-efficacy of Community College Students in Developmental Mathematics Courses


Book Description

Mathematics self-efficacy was defined as an individual's beliefs about how he or she would perform a specific math task or in a specific mathematics or related course. Mathematics self-efficacy was differentiated from self-esteem. Previous literature found self-efficacy in general and mathematics self-efficacy in particular to be significantly related to enrollment, retention, and completion. This study used the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Survey to investigate whether age, gender, developmental mathematics course, or developmental mathematics grade were significantly predictive of mathematics self-efficacy among developmental mathematics students course at a Kentucky community college. Multiple linear regression found that none of these variables were statistically significant predictors of mathematics self-efficacy among respondents. The study discussed the resulting implications and made recommendations for future research and practice.




The Impact of Self-efficacy in Mathematics on Urban High School Graduates' Math Performance


Book Description

The purpose of this study, which used quantitative survey data, was to examine the extent to which the four sources of self-efficacy (i.e., performance experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional reactions), in the subject of mathematics, correlate with student performance on the mathematics portion of community college placement tests taken by urban high school graduates entering community college. Using SurveyMonkey, a survey was administrated to 191 urban high school graduates taking mathematics placement tests for Massachusetts community colleges. The findings showed that only two of the four sources of self-efficacy, performance experiences and physiological and emotional reactions, were found to be statistically significant factors that influence the performance of recent urban high school graduates on community college mathematics placement tests. The other two sources of self-efficacy, vicarious experiences and verbal persuasion, were found not to be statistically significant factors affecting students' placement test performance. In addition, demographics (gender, ethnicity, and parent's or guardian's level of education) showed mixed findings. Specifically, gender was found to be significantly correlated with students' placement test results, where females were found to be more likely to perform better on placement tests in mathematics than males; however, these findings only occurred after controlling for students' levels of the four sources of self-efficacy. In addition, students' parent's or guardian's level of education was found to be significantly correlated with placement test results; however, this relationship was no longer present after controlling for students' levels of the four sources of self-efficacy. Furthermore, students' ethnicity was found to not be a significant factor in placement test results. Future studies in the area of mathematics test performance should investigate the impact of self-efficacy on other populations, such as a homogeneous group, students in nonurban schools, or students in a private school setting.




Agency and Self-efficacy in Corequisite Math Courses


Book Description

Students identified as unprepared for college work face considerable barriers to performance and college completion. To improve underprepared student outcomes, community colleges where most underprepared students enroll are using different models of developmental education. A recently implemented model in mathematics is a corequisite course designed to increase students' chances of success by using different methods of instruction to decrease student time to completion. This corequisite course accelerates students placed in developmental math classes and offers students the opportunity to complete their developmental requirements while taking college-level work and earning college credit. As developmental mathematics poses the biggest barrier for underprepared students, this study examined the corequisite developmental education model of instruction at one community college and students' perception of their math abilities and influence in achieving success in math. Understanding student agency and academic self -efficacy in the learning process can enable students to enact the behaviors that can lead to desired outcomes and student success. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups, documents, and field notes comprised this qualitative methodology.







Effects on Students' Self-efficacy in a Mathematics Bridge Program


Book Description

Many beginning college students have historically struggled with both developmental and college-level mathematics. This study investigated whether students' self-efficacy for accomplishing mathematics tasks was increased after participating in a mathematics bridge program. The study also explored whether students gained more self-efficacy as a result of participating in an enhanced intervention designed to increase mathematics self-efficacy. Participants included 246 community college students placed into a developmental mathematics course and subsequently enrolled in the college's mathematics bridge program. The bridge program was designed to provide a one-week review session on high school mathematics topics with the goal of students placing into higher-level courses at the end of the session. A survey measuring mathematics self-efficacy was administered to participants both at the beginning and at the end of the bridge program in order to measure the change in math self-efficacy for each participant. The subsequent statistical analysis included a two-way mixed ANOVA focusing on effects of time, group (traditional intervention group or enhanced intervention group), and first-generation student status (first-generation, continuing-generation, or unknown) to examine if students experienced an increase in self-efficacy upon completion of the bridge program. Students provided open-ended responses to the question, "What did you find most helpful about the Math Refresher course?" A content analysis determined the themes that emerged from the data. Students had a significant increase in self-efficacy (p




Developmental Mathematics Classrooms: Learning Environment, Academic Self-efficacy, and Gender


Book Description

The state of developmental mathematics has been a growing issue for many developmental education programs at community colleges. Developmental mathematics has been viewed as a barrier to the success of students who fail to persist into required college-level mathematics courses. Variables such as students' perceptions of the learning environment and academic self-efficacy have been found to be strong predictors of student outcomes. Therefore, the researcher used quantitative methods to examine the relationships between community college students' perceptions of the learning environment in developmental mathematics classrooms and their ratings of their academic self-efficacy.




A Causal Comparative Analysis of Mathematics Self-efficacy of Face-to-face and Online Quantitative Literacy Students


Book Description

Mathematics self-efficacy has been shown to be a strong predictor of mathematics performance and mixed results have been found when examining the mathematics self-efficacy of face-to-face students based on gender and age. However, there is a lack of research studies that examine if differences exist in the mathematics self-efficacy of face-to-face and online students. The purpose of this ex-post facto causal comparative quantitative study was to determine if differences existed in the mathematics self-efficacy of Quantitative Literacy students, as measured by the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, based on their choice of delivery method (face-to-face or online). Participants for this research study were comprised of select face-to-face and online Quantitative Literacy students at seven North Carolina community colleges. Data were examined using a one-way multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) and a statistically significant difference was found in the mathematics task self-efficacy and math-related school subjects’ self-efficacy of students who enrolled in a face-to-face or online Quantitative Literacy course. Online Quantitative Literacy students possessed both a higher mathematics task self-efficacy and math-related school subjects’ self-efficacy. Additional data analyses revealed no statistically significant differences in the mathematics self-efficacy of Quantitative Literacy students based on gender and method of placement (high school multiple measures, placement test scores, and developmental mathematics course completion).







Reciprocal Partnership


Book Description

Community colleges are calling to support students who are at risk of restricting their career options because they do not have the mathematical groundings to pursue math-related careers. In response, I conceptualize a mathematics intervention program namely, Reciprocal Partnership, which is defined as the collaboration of student dyads to engage in reciprocal learning and teaching under the influence of constructive and collaborative environments that are structured by the Three Learning Situations framework. Reciprocal Partnership is proposed to enrich college students in their mathematical learning and to support their social development during their secondary-tertiary transition for mathematics knowledge and skills are strongly correlated with studentsâ college success and career aspiration. Therefrom, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of Reciprocal Partnership on the mathematics self-efficacy and achievement of first- and second-semester college students through a mixed methods approach. It also examines the structure of Reciprocal Partnership to inform the design of effective intervention programs for mathematical learning. Data from final examination grade, and pre- and post-surveys were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, and were used to cross-validate findings from semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results reveal significant effect of Reciprocal Partnership on the mathematics self-efficacy of only students in the first semester, and no significant effect on the mathematics achievement of both students in the first and second semester. However, qualitative results identify a number of benefits for both groups of students such as gains in mathematical knowledge and skill, confidence, motivation, social connection, and comfort. Results from this study suggest the emphasis of mathematics intervention programs on all three learning situations (exploratory, explanatory, and extensional) over only the explanatory situation to maximize learning outcomes.