Exploring Grade 5 girls' attitudes toward mathematics

This thesis / dissertation was completed and submitted at Nipissing University, and is made freely accessible through the University of Toronto’s TSpace repositoryThis thesis is an exploration of attitudes held by Grade 5 girls towards mathematics. Eighteen Grade 5 girls and boys completed questionnaires regarding their attitudes towards mathematics. This was followed by one-to-one interviews with 7 girls and 2 teachers. Themes found in the literature include external factors: teachers, parents, stereotypes, and expectations; and internal factors: goals, emotions, value, and selfbeliefs. These factors may have an impact on girls' attitudes towards mathematics; they are explored and examined in the data that were collected through the questionnaire and interview responses. In my sample I found that Grade 5 girls generally feel that math is important to their future goals and objectives, and they enjoy math and usually feel confident in their mathematical abilities. Overall, there seems to be a shift in the idea that mathematics and such related careers are only for males.M.Ed