Mathematics Attitude among University Students: Implications for Science and Engineering Education

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of gender, college stay, and previous achievement on attitudes towards mathematics among university students. The participants were 431 (of which 118 or 27.4% were female) randomly selected sophomore and junior undergraduates enrolled in applied science and engineering fields at Hawassa University. An adapted measure of Attitudes towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI-Amharic) was used to determine attitude towards mathematics while prior mathematics achievement (PMA) was assessed using a self-reported measure. A multivariate factorial model (MANOA) fitted to the data revealed that students generally held positive attitude towards mathematics though significant group variations were evident as a function of gender and previous mathematics achievement (PMA) across all math-attitude dimensions. The implications of the findings for science and engineering education are discussed.