Re-examining Factor Structure of the Attitudinal Items From TIMSS 2003 in Cross-Cultural Study of Mathematics Self-Concept

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Department

Educational Studies and Research

Abstract

The aims of this study were to examine the factor structure of the attitudinal questionnaire items from Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 and to investigate low- and high-performing students' mathematics self-concept in East Asian societies and in the USA. The participants were 24,119 eighth-graders, 4856 from Japan, 4972 from Hong Kong, 5379 from Taiwan and 8912 from the USA. Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted revealing a same factor structure across the four societies. The MANOVA results showed that (1) the US students reported a statistically significant higher mathematics self-concept than students in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Japan; (2) across the four societies, high-performing students had statistically significant higher self-concept than low-performing students; and (3) the US low-performing students' self-concept was higher than Japanese high-performing students' self-concept. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Publication Title

Educational Psychology

Volume

30

Issue

6

First Page

699

Last Page

712

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