Hispanic Students ' Attitudes Toward Mathematics and Their Classroom Experience

This paper reports on a survey administered to 226 mathematics students at a Texas high school with a 99 % Hispanic student population. The survey consisted of items that gauged attitudes toward mathematics and the frequency of traditional versus non-traditional classroom activities. A series of analyses of variance were conducted with gender and mathematics courses as main factors. Findings indicate that female students had more unfavorable attitudes toward mathematics than male students and perceived a greater frequency of traditional activities than did the male students. Students in algebra and geometry classes had worse attitudes toward mathematics than students in calculus classes. Data indicate a greater occurrence of traditional teacher-centered activities than non-traditional inquiry-based activities, and a positive correlation between achievement and attitude. A higher correlation coefficient was associated with negative attitudes and traditional activities than positive attitudes, indicating tha