Doctoral Dissertations

Diana Venters

Date of Award

12-1992

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Teacher Education

Major Professor

Phyllis Huff

Committee Members

Carol Kasworm, Kathleen De Marrais, Mary Jane Connolly

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn the meanings which successful female mathematics students attached to their previous mathematics experiences. The researcher interviewed a sample of twelve traditional-aged students from an East Tennessee community college developmental mathematics program and asked them to reflect on middle and high school mathematics experiences. Interview questions were used as a guide, but the participants were allowed to focus on events or people with significant meaning to them. High school transcripts and a demographic questionnaire provided background information on the participants.

Inductive analysis of interview transcripts produced themes within the three categories of questions asked. 1) Internal Belief System: Gaining confidence in mathematics, learning to value time (effort) in learning mathematics, and difficulties with visual and verbal mathematics. 2) The Role of School: Schools' use of time, teachers' time, teachers' attitudes, guidance counselors' lack of time, and the pace of the mathematics curriculum. 3) Social Influences: negative influences of peers and positive influences of family members. While most of the themes found in this study support the body of literature on females and mathematics, the first two themes under the internal belief system do not. The participants in this study perceived that their successes in their developmental mathematics course were due to their ability in mathematics and that earlier, less successful attempts at learning mathematics were due to lack of their own effort.

An additional theme pervaded this interview study the lost year. A year of school or mathematics was lost in some form by nine of the twelve participants. Three participants did not take math in their senior year despite having above average achievement in previous math courses. Four of the participants lost much of one year of high school due to negative peer influences. Two participants were enrolled in "terminal" math programs which discouraged them from taking more than two years of math.

In this study, the participants corroborated current theories which stress the importance that female learners place on feeling a personal, emotional connection to those involved in significant domains of their lives. The twelve female learners who participated in this study discussed at length the importance of teachers who cared, teachers who offered time and encouragement, teachers who understood the insecurities of adolescence and helped them build their self-esteem. They looked to family members for emotional support and encouragement in their studies. A major implication from this study of female students of mathematics is the importance of caring and nurturing from the school organization, teachers, and family members.

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