As the Law of Gifted Education has been enacted, quantity of elementary gifted education has been increased, yet, there are various problems and side effects since we ignored quality improvement. When we carefully look at the process of gifted educati...
As the Law of Gifted Education has been enacted, quantity of elementary gifted education has been increased, yet, there are various problems and side effects since we ignored quality improvement. When we carefully look at the process of gifted education and distinction of the mathematically gifted, we can see that they emphasize cognitive aspects only, and pay no attention in definitive aspects.
Recent definitions of the gifted, which are provided by various academics, interpret it with more comprehensive meanings rather than in exclusive viewpoints. Therefore, students’ ability of academic performance should not be limited in knowledge area like achievement outcomes and performance abilities, but should have non-cognitive aspects including achievement motivations and attitudes, so their gifts can be expressed ideally. Thus, they actively include students that are expected to have possibilities to show great abilities in mathematics since their definitional characteristics are exceptional in the distinguishing standards of the gifted.
Even in this definitional area, attitudes toward subjects and attribution styles that make us to have direct explanations and predictions about students’ performances and strong emotional characteristics, can be important variables for us to understand characteristics of students. Thus, this research studies how to attribute mathematical learning outcomes of the mathematically gifted in elementary schools, what are their attitudes toward mathematics are like and what are differences between them and normal students. In addition, as I examine relationship of attribution styles and attitudes toward mathematics, this has a purpose to understand special characteristics of the mathematically gifted and to give useful information that we can use in distinguishing and educating the mathematically gifted students.
Targets of the research were total of 415 students, who were 202 mathematically gifted elementary students in 5th and 6th grade, from three universities in cities and provinces, eight of Gifted Education Institutions attached to Offices of educations of cities, provinces and regions, together with 213 normal students from five elementary schools. I conducted tests for attribution style and attitudes toward mathematics. To find out differences between the mathematically gifted and normal students, I carried out two-way ANOVA and t-test with the collected data, and also conducted correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis to study relationship between attribution styles and attitudes toward mathematics.
Research topics can be arranged as follows.
1. What are the differences in attribution styles between normal elementary students and the mathematically gifted elementary students?
2. What are differences in students’ attitudes toward mathematics between normal elementary students and the mathematically gifted elementary students?
3. What is the relationship between attribution styles and attitudes toward mathematics among normal elementary students and the mathematically gifted elementary students?
4. What are the influences of attribution styles over attitudes toward mathematics among normal elementary students and the mathematically gifted elementary students?
Main research outcomes of this study and conclusions I arrived with those outcomes are as follows.
Firstly, attribution styles of the mathematically gifted and normal students did not have much difference for gender or grades, but in terms of gifts, there were significant contrasts in all of subordinate factors for attribution styles. Both groups had high attribution level of efforts, while the mathematically gifted had higher level of attributing with their abilities and strong characteristics to acknowledge internally. Extraordinary achievements of the mathematically gifted can be reasoned to their responsibilities about mathematic education outcomes with strong inner controls and their great trust in their own abilities.
For their attitudes toward mathematics, both groups did not have much difference per grades, but there were some subordinate factors for gender differences. Among the mathematically gifted students, girls had high rates in relevance of gender roles while boys had high rates in usefulness and motivations. For normal students, girls had high rates in relevance of gender roles and boys were in confidence, teachers’ attitudes toward learners and motivations. These outcomes tell us that female students do not believe their mathematical abilities are lower than male students, but since their motivation about mathematics are low, they do not acknowledge their mathematical abilities highly or do not have great expectations about themselves. Thus, teachers have to teach them as they put values on developing their self-confidences, so they would not be negative about mathematics. Moreover, about the gifts, the mathematically gifted had higher points in all subordinate factors except relevance to bear, especially scored higher in self-confidence and motivation parts. Therefore, the mathematically gifted have more positive attitudes toward mathematics, when compared to normal students, and the reason to have a significant distinction in self-confidence and motivation seems to be influenced from their previous success in mathematical achievements.
The outcomes of correlation analysis showed that both groups had a significant statistical correlation between inner characteristics and attitudes toward mathematics for attribution styles. Especially, the mathematically gifted had stronger correlation of effort attributions and attitudes toward mathematics, and inner characteristics and self-confidence. For subordinate factors, the mathematically gifted students had higher correlations for almost every factor, primarily in statistical correlation of ability attribution and self-confidence, and effort attribution and motivation. This will be a result that reflects positive faith that more efforts mean better performances in activities related to mathematics. If we take these characteristics of the mathematically gifted, when we select the gifted ones, we have to promote to make students, who have passionate task commitments to establish goals and high scores in their attitudes toward mathematics even if their academic achievements in mathematics are not very good, to be chosen as the mathematically gifted.
I conducted multiple regression analysis to study how subordinate factors of attribution styles influence attitudes toward mathematics and how much impact they have, and I realized that attribution styles are significant variable that explain attitudes toward mathematics. Both the mathematically gifted and normal students’inner characteristics have meaningful influences over their attitudes toward mathematics. Especially among those inner characteristics, effort attribution scored higher. The gifted had stronger impact of ability attributions, not only effort attributions, and effort attribution has powerful effect upon usefulness, while ability attribution was powerful on self-confidence. To change students’ attitudes toward mathematics in a positive way, teachers should instruct them to have positive minds that their abilities can be improved if they work hard. In addition, we need to develop a program for the mathematically gifted, which will change students’attitudes toward mathematics in a positive way.