Development of Mathematics Course Attitude Scale: A Preliminary Study of Validity & Reliability

• Published in: Universal journal of educational research (Print) 2017-12, Vol.5 (12A), p.63-70
• Main Authors: Eskici, Menekşe, Ilgaz, Gökhan, Tolga Aricak, Osman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude Measures; Factor Analysis; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; High School Students; Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics Education; Secondary School Mathematics; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Test Construction; Test Reliability; Test Validity
• ISSN: 2332-3205; 2332-3213
• DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2017.051310

The aim of this research is to develop a Mathematics Course Attitude Scale to measure high school students' attitudes towards mathematics and to test the validity and reliability of this scale. It is also aimed to reveal whether there are significant differences in school students' attitudes towards mathematics according to their gender and mathematics achievement. This research was conducted with 508 volunteer students (198 female, 310 male) studying in five different high schools. One-dimensional scale consisting of 13 items was obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that one factor solution was acceptable. In addition, the internal consistency and composite reliability of the scale were found to be high. We also found that there was a significant and moderate positive correlation between attitude and achievement. It was seen that the average of the attitude points, according to the gender, was very close to each other and the difference was not significant.