Examining the Relationship Between Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Mathematical Thinking Level and Attitude Towards Mathematics Courses

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

This study investigates the relationship between preservice mathematics teachers’ mathematical thinking levels and their attitudes toward mathematics courses. It also examines whether gender, reasons for career choice, and academic achievement produce significant differences in attitudes and thinking levels. Participants include 109 senior preservice mathematics teachers from three state universities, selected through convenience sampling. Attitude scale and mathematical thinking scale data are analyzed using SPSS. Findings show moderate attitudes with high mathematical thinking in higher-order tendencies, reasoning, and problem-solving, with weaker links to problem-solving.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Attitudes and mathematics learning

Mathematical thinking as a cognitive process

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ MATHEMATICAL THINKING LEVEL AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS COURSES Avni YILDIZ, Serdal BALTACI, Büşra KARTAL Abstract: This study is correlational research and aims to investigate the relationship between preservice mathematics teachers' mathematical thinking levels and attitudes for courses in mathematics. We also examined whether gender, reasons for career choice, and academic achievement lead to significant differences in pre-service teachers' attitudes and mathematical thinking levels. Participants are 109 senior pre-service mathematics teachers from three different state universities that have similar conditions. Participants are selected via convenience sampling. Seventy-nine of the participants are female, and 30 are male. "Attitude scale for courses in mathematics" and "Mathematical Thinking Scale" are used to collect data. Data were analyzed by using SPSS package program. Pre-service teachers are found to have moderate attitudes while their mathematical thinking levels are at a high-level in the sub-domains of higher-order thinking tendency, reasoning, and problem-solving and at a moderate level in the subdomain of mathematical thinking skill. Pre-service teachers' attitudes for courses in mathematics have a significant moderate relationship with higher order thinking tendency, and reasoning and have a significant and weak relationship with problem-solving. Key words: Mathematical thinking, Attitudes, Attitudes for courses in mathematics, Pre-service mathematics teachers, Correlation 1. Introduction The permanency and utility of learning about content depend on individuals' attitudes towards that content (Eshun, 2004; Kupari & Nissinen, 2013) . Baki, Kösa, and, Berigel (2007) suggested that permanent change in behaviors may occur if positive attitudes towards the content are developed. From this viewpoint, it is possible to say that individuals' positive attitudes towards content promote their content-related success. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (2000) argued that students' attitudes towards mathematics could affect their mathematical knowledge, interest, performance, and willingness to learn mathematics and their thoughts about the mathematics course. The importance of students' mathematic attitudes makes teachers' in-class behaviors more important and makes it essential to determine pre-service teachers' attitudes that can affect their future students. Attitude towards mathematics is an essential factor that is closely related to the students' behaviors and motivation in this course. Attitudes towards mathematics are related to liking mathematics, being disposed to engage with mathematical activities, and beliefs about mathematics abilities, and mathematics value (Ma & Kishor, 1997) . Students with positive attitudes enjoy mathematics and engaging with mathematics, and they believe that he/she is good at mathematics and that mathematics is useful (Kartal, 2020) . On the other hand, students with negative attitudes do vice versa. Leder (1992) identifies that the fundamental purpose of mathematics should be to make students develop positive attitudes towards mathematics. Students' attitudes toward learning mathematics may play a crucial role in mathematics education (Kislenko, Grevholm & Lepik, 2005) . Students who have negative attitudes towards mathematics are inclined to avoid doing mathematics and believe that they are incapable of mathematics (Aljaberi, 2014; Kargar, Tarmizi & Bayat, 2010) . Students' prior experiences related to mathematics lead to positive or negative attitudes towards learning mathematics (Beswick, 2006; Raymond, 1997) . Most of the students in Turkey believe that mathematics is difficult to learn; they feel anxious because of the low level of self-efficacy in mathematics, and develop negative attitudes towards mathematics (Baykul, 2000; Duru, Akgün &Özdemir, 2005; Günhan & Başer, 20

FAQs

What is the main goal of the study?

The study aims to examine the relationship between preservice mathematics teachers’ mathematical thinking levels and their attitudes toward mathematics courses.

How many participants and what sampling method are used?

The study uses 109 senior preservice mathematics teachers selected through convenience sampling from three state universities.

Which scales and software are used to collect and analyze data?

Data are collected using an attitude scale for mathematics courses and a mathematical thinking scale, and analyzed using SPSS.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya