Perceived Competence and Math Achievement in Elementary School Students
Perceção de Competência e Desempenho na Matemática em Alunos do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/rpe.14264Abstract
Perceived competence (PC) has been an important issue in understanding students' achievement in mathematics. We developed two studies (E1, E2), whose objectives were: 1) to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the PC in Mathematics Scale (EPCM) for elementary students (E1); 2) to analyze an explanatory model of the relation between PC and achievement and to compare averages according to gender (E2). E1 enrolled 361 third and fourth grade students (52.4% boys). We used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the EPCM structure and gender invariance. In E2, 79 students from the third grade (55.7% boys) participated. Achievement was calculated using teacher reports and test scores. To test the relationship between PC and performance, we used structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the EPCM presents good psychometric characteristics and gender invariance. We also found a significant relationship between PC and students’ math achievement. Differences in PC were observed in both studies, with girls showing lower CP than boys, despite their performance being similar. The results indicate that gender differences, identified in previous studies with adolescents, appear early in schooling.
Keywords: Perceived competence; Academic achievement; Mathematics; Elementary school; Gender
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