The Big Fish-Little Pond Effect on Affective Factors Based on PISA 2012 Mathematics Achievement

Year 2017, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 1 - 14, 03.04.2017

Dilara Bakan Kalaycıoğlu

https://doi.org/10.21031/epod.297686

Cited By: 1

Abstract

In this study, the 2012 PISA Turkey student questionnaire data is
considered to determine the big fish-little pond effect. The mathematics
self-efficacy, self-concept and anxiety affective factors are examined to
explain the relation of each of them with the school type, gender, socioeconomic
status, student’s mathematics achievement and school’s mathematics achievement
covariates. A total number of 771 students from 88 high schools are in the
sample. Factor analyses’ results support the construct validity of the Student
Questionnaire’s mathematics self-efficacy, anxiety and self-concept items. Data
set is analyzed with Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause Model and the patterns
of association with covariates and affective factors were tested
simultaneously. According to the results, Anatolian high school students have a
higher mathematics self-efficacy and lower mathematics anxiety than do the
general high school students. However, when the student mathematics achievement
and school mathematics achievement variables were inserted to the model, school
type was not associated with mathematics self-efficacy. Moreover, Anatolian
high school student’s mathematics anxiety was higher than that of the general
high school students. Student’s mathematics achievement was the most
significant predictor of the mathematics self-efficacy, anxiety and
self-concept factors. Finally, school’s mathematics achievement was a
significant predictor of only mathematics self-concept. The identification of
increase in school’s mathematics achievement yields a decrease in the student’s
mathematics self-concept may be considered as the most important result of this
study. These results provide evidence about the Anatolian high schools’
students experience big fish-little pond effect.

Keywords

Big fish-little pond effect, mathematics self-efficacy, anxiety, self-concept

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