Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Kamania Wynter-Hoyte

Abstract

Even into adulthood, some people have a strong resentment of math. Their beliefs toward their mathematical abilities have created a fear of the subject, resulting in an avoidance of anything math-related. These thoughts and beliefs regarding math and mathematical abilities begin somewhere along an individual’s academic journey in a math classroom. This action research study, using a mixed-methods approach, attempted to uncover the origins and development of self-efficacy and mathematical identities in rural eighth-grade students. Furthermore, this study explored ways that a teacher can influence these sets of beliefs and examined the impact on academic performance. The framework used to guide this study consisted of self-efficacy theory and mathematical identities theory. Led by the teacher-researcher, this study involved an intervention aimed at improving focal participants’ self-efficacy and mathematical identities. Themes uncovered through the study were: what happens in the teacher’s classroom from the eyes of students, grades, and confidence. Results indicated that through the intervention, academic performance, self-efficacy, and mathematical identities all improved for the focal participants, outperforming participants who did not participate in the intervention. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for teachers to 1) develop a deep understanding of their students, especially their levels of self-efficacy and mathematical identities, 2) be mindful of their actions, both academically related and non-academically related, and 3) seek out the forgotten students.

Rights

© 2025, Gavin Wilson

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