Mexican American High School Students’ Perceptions of Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching

Abstract

A survey that gauged attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics teaching was administered to 226 high school mathematics students. The sample was taken from a high school situated in the lower Rio Grande river valley region of Texas. The following were the research questions: What are the attitudes of Latino students and their beliefs toward mathematics? What is the predominant mathematics teaching tradition presented as perceived by the students? Results indicated that the students’attitudes toward Algebra and mathematics teaching in general were not very conducive for enhancing their “new civil right.” There was a greater occurrence of traditional, teacher-centered activities in all classes in comparison to nontraditional, inquiry-based activities.

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