Epistemological beliefs, motivation and academic achievement of Filipino college students in mathematics: A mediational analysis

• Main Author: del Rosario, Rowena Mabutol
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2010
• Subjects: Motivation in education; Academic achievement; Academic performance; Mathematics > Study and teaching—Philippines; Mathematics—Study and teaching—Psychological aspects; Educational Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/1481
• Institution: De La Salle University

Guided by Schommer’s (1990) Multidimensionality theory of epistemological beliefs, two non-experimental quantitative studies aimed to establish empirical evidence that claries the potential benefits of pursuing epistemological beliefs on motivation. In study 1, the structure of Filipino freshman college students’ epistemological beliefs in math using the Chan and Elliot’s English version of Schommer’s Epistemological Belief Questionnaire have been explored in which two belief dimensions were identified. The result is dissimilar to that found by Chan and Elliot with Hong Kong teacher education students maybe because of different cultural inclinations of the participants. The comparison in dimensions pertaining to effortful metalearning reported in this study could be explained by value similarities between the Hong Kong Chinese and Filipino culture. Based on regression analyses, epistemological beliefs (entitative beliefs and effortful metalearning) predicted students’ mathematical problem-solving beliefs, motivation and academic achievement. Study 2 confirms the underlying structure of the three instruments (EB Scale, MPSB Scale, and Extrinsic Motivation Scale) found in Study1. Moreover, findings concerning the final model showed a statistically significant influence of students’ beliefs on their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and academic achievement. In this mediated model, beliefs about usefulness of math significantly predicted intrinsic motivation and this motivation predicted academic achievement in math. The findings show the important influence of students’ mathematical problem-solving beliefs about solving word problem and usefulness of math on the academic achievement of the students if and only if affected by their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation toward the subject.