Determinants of Affective Factors in Mathematics Achievement: Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract

The study on attitudes towards learning has a long tradition in mathematics education. While attitude as a construct has been investigated from different aspects, the researchers recognized that attitude encompasses many other related factors. This paper describes the affective factors that form attitudes and their important role in mathematics achievement. The affective factors identified in this study are students liking, value and confident in learning mathematics. The 20-item self-report survey adapted from TIMSS 2011 context questionnaire was translated into Arabic and administered to 387 students in schools in a Gulf state. The data was analyzed with structural equation modeling software. The results show that affective factors significantly and positively influence students’ mathematics achievement in this context.