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Strategic help seeking amongst secondary three students in mathematics
Author
Loh, Jia Perng
Supervisor
Dindyal, Jaguthsing
Teong, Su Kwong
Abstract
This study sought to explore adolescents' strategic help seeking behaviour, an aspect of self-regulated learning in mathematics education that might assist one's independent pursuit of mathematical problem-solving knowledge and competence in the local context.
It seeks to distinguish strategic help seeking behaviours from indiscriminate, academic help seeking reported by 103 local Special and Express streams students in a Special Assistance Plan school. Through a combination of performance-based and self-report surveys, the study examined the statistical relationships between the two forms of help seeking behaviour and students' academic track, immediate mathematical achievements, as well as, other measures of students' personal variables such as self-efficacy and metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability.
This study found that a distinction between the two forms of help seeking behaviours showed that students who are high achievers tend not to seek help as frequently as low achievers but when they do seek help, it may often be judged to be a strategic decision. This study also found that self-efficacious individuals and mastery-oriented individuals tend to seek academic help less frequently, but when they decide to seek help, the decision is often strategically oriented. In addition, this study did not find any significant gender differences in the mean frequency of academic help seeking. Although, male students made more strategic help seeking decisions than female students and this relationship may also be influenced by students' prior achievements, as indicated by their academic tracks.
It seeks to distinguish strategic help seeking behaviours from indiscriminate, academic help seeking reported by 103 local Special and Express streams students in a Special Assistance Plan school. Through a combination of performance-based and self-report surveys, the study examined the statistical relationships between the two forms of help seeking behaviour and students' academic track, immediate mathematical achievements, as well as, other measures of students' personal variables such as self-efficacy and metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability.
This study found that a distinction between the two forms of help seeking behaviours showed that students who are high achievers tend not to seek help as frequently as low achievers but when they do seek help, it may often be judged to be a strategic decision. This study also found that self-efficacious individuals and mastery-oriented individuals tend to seek academic help less frequently, but when they decide to seek help, the decision is often strategically oriented. In addition, this study did not find any significant gender differences in the mean frequency of academic help seeking. Although, male students made more strategic help seeking decisions than female students and this relationship may also be influenced by students' prior achievements, as indicated by their academic tracks.
Date Issued
2005
Call Number
QA14.S55 Loh
Date Submitted
2005