m athematical literacy role of gender and emotional intelligence vicki tariq university of central...

MATHEMATICAL LITERACY ROLE OF

GENDER AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Vicki TariqUniversity of Central Lancashire

HEA STEM Conference April 2012 1

DefinitionsMathematical literacy (ML):“an individual's capacity to identify and understand the role that mathematics plays in the world, to make well-founded judgements and to use and engage with mathematics in ways that meet the needs of that individual's life as a constructive, concerned and reflective citizen” (OECD, 2003, p. 24)

Emotional Intelligence (EI):• an emotion-related cognitive ability; involves perceiving,

using, understanding and regulating emotion; assessed by examining reasoning and problem-solving in the emotion domain

• trait model assumes that EI is a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions; assessed by examining self-perceptions of emotional capabilities


AimTo explore:• how 1st-year undergraduates perform in a

mathematical literacy test comprising PISA items

• associations between mathematical literacy and: (i) attitudes/beliefs concerning maths,

(ii) EI• gender differences


Method• ‘Convenience’ sample of 138 1st-year

undergraduates; Psychology (50), Forensics (46) and Computing (42)

• Test instrument: 10 PISA questions (Cleary et al., 2010); 20 min. to complete (with calculators) in 1st semester 2010/11

• Online survey: scales aimed at measuring self-efficacy in maths, attitudes/beliefs concerning maths, and EI

• Data exported or entered manually into SPSS (v.19) for analysis


‘Walking’ test items

HEA STEM Conference April 2012

The picture shows the footprints of a man walking. The pace length P is the distance between the rear of two consecutive footprints.For men, the formula n/P = 140 gives an approximate relationship between n and P where, n = number of steps per minute, andP = pace length in metres.

1. If the formula applies to Heiko’s walking and Heiko takes 70 steps per minute, what is Heiko’s pace length? Show your work.

2. Bernard knows his pace length is 0.80 metres. The formula applies to Bernard’s walking. Calculate Bernard’s walking speed in metres per minute and in kilometres per hour. Show your working out.

5

Online survey• Attitudes/beliefs re maths

o Self-efficacyo Confidenceo Anxietyo Theory of intelligenceo Persistenceo Learning goalo Performance goal

• EIo Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEM) – EI

proficiency – ability EIo Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES) (factors 1 to 4) –

component of trait EI


ParticipantsParticipants:

• 46% male

• 18 – 48 yrs (mean 20; SD 5); 73% aged 18 or 19 yrs

• 22% with a qualification higher than GCSE Mathematics (e.g. AS or A2, or equivalent) (but data available for only 66% of participants)

• 99% full-time undergraduates

• 95% entered the university in 2010

• 92% English was first language


Test scores

Test scores Test statistic

Probability

Mean (SD) N

t (df) p

Females 7.6 (2.8) 74 2.572 (136) 0.011

Males 8.9 (3.4) 64

F (df) p

Forensics 8.8a (3.1) 46 3.309 (2, 135)

0.040

Computing 8.7a (3.0) 42

Psychology 7.3b (3.1) 50HEA STEM Conference April 2012

Ranged from 0 – 16 (max.); mean 8.2 (SD 3.1)

10 students (7%) achieved scores of 13 – 16

16 students (12%) achieved scores of 0 – 4

8

Proficiency & self-efficacy

Task Related PISA item

% fully correc

t

% partially correct

% confide

nt

Solving an equation like 3/x = 9 Walking 1 70 14 78

Understanding graphs and charts

Test scores 62 91

Converting between currencies Exchange rate 1Exchange rate 2

9792

75

Estimating area of a 2-D shape Continent area

34 38 83

Computing perimeter of simple 2-D shapes

Carpenter 15 30 80

Making use of quadratic functions

Apples 3 19 19 64

Converting units of measurement from m to km

Walking 2 19 67 74

Explaining in writing a simple maths concept

Exchange rate 3Test scoresApples 3

776219 19

73

Interpreting likelihood of an event

Earthquake 77 81


Correlation analyses - males

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Highest maths qualification 1

2. Test score 1

3. Self-efficacy 1

4. Confidence 1

5. Anxiety 1

6. Theory of intelligence 1

7. Persistence 1

8. Learning goal oriented 1

9. Performance goal oriented 1

10. EI proficiency

11. Using & managing own emotions

12. Identifying & understanding own emotions

13. Dealing with emotions in others

14. Perceiving emotion (facial expression/body language)


Correlation analyses - females

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Highest maths qualification 1

2. Test score 1

3. Self-efficacy 1

4. Confidence 1

5. Anxiety 1

6. Theory of intelligence 1

7. Persistence 1

8. Learning goal oriented 1

9. Performance goal oriented 1

10. EI proficiency

11. Using & managing own emotions

12. Identifying & understanding own emotions

13. Dealing with emotions in others

14. Perceiving emotion (facial expression/body language)


Summary of results• Males performed better in the test comprising PISA

items• Females were less confident with regard to the nine

mathematical tasks included in the test• Males: correlations between attitudes/beliefs towards

maths and EI suggest that aspects of emotional self-efficacy are related to learning strategies (TOI, persistence, PG), but not to confidence, anxiety or actual performance (test score)

• Females: correlations suggest that EI plays a greater role – those with higher levels of EI are more confident and less anxious, believe intelligence to be malleable, are more persistent and learning-goal oriented


Conclusions• Evidence that ability EI and emotional self-

efficacy (a component of trait EI) are associated with test performance and/or attitudes/beliefs surrounding maths

• Different patterns of association in male & female undergraduates

• Previous research has revealed that EI can be developed in undergraduates

• Interventions aimed at improving EI may have the effect of improving learning strategies and performance in maths


Acknowledgements• Team members:

Pamela Qualter, Psychology, UCLan Sian Roberts, Education, Leeds Yvon Appleby, Education, UCLan Lynne Barnes, Education, UCLan

• Funded by HEFCE’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (Project Strand) initiative managed by the Higher Education Academy


m athematical literacy role of gender and emotional intelligence vicki tariq university of central...

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