Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2019)

The Role of Self-efficacy and Use of Teachers’ Feedback on Students’ Mathematics Performance in Tanzanian Secondary Schools

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i1.67
florence kyaruzi
DAR ES SALAAM UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (DUCE)

Corresponding Author(s) : florence kyaruzi

florence.kyaruzi@duce.ac.tz

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 8 No. 1 (2019)

Abstract

Self-efficacy has been found to have positive relationship with important educational
variables such as choice of task, persistence, motivation, and academic performance.
This study investigated the role of students’ mathematics self-efficacy and use of
teachers’ feedback in improving mathematics performance among secondary schools in
Tanzania. The study involved 2767 Form III students sampled from 48 secondary
schools in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro regions. A questionnaire was used to measure
students’ mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance, while focus group
discussions were used to explore students’ perceptions of the use teachers’ feedback.
Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and content analyses
techniques. Quantitative results showed that students reported high levels of
mathematics self-efficacy and perceptions about the use of teachers’ feedback.
Furthermore, students’ self-efficacy and use of teachers’ feedback jointly predicted their
mathematics performance to a small extent. Focus group discussions results showed
that students were both confident (59%) and unconfident (41%) about their ability to
learn mathematics. Precisely, students conceived mathematics to be a simple (28%),
interesting (31%), difficult (19%), and a challenging (19%) subject. Potential interventions
to improve students’ self-efficacy in mathematics and the use of mathematics teachers’
feedback are recommended.

Keywords

feedback use mathematics performance mixed methods structural equation modelling self-efficacy
The Role of Self-efficacy and Use of Teachers’ Feedback on Students’ Mathematics Performance in Tanzanian Secondary Schools. (2020). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 8(1). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i1.67
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Author Biography

florence kyaruzi, DAR ES SALAAM UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (DUCE)

Department of Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies

How to Cite

The Role of Self-efficacy and Use of Teachers’ Feedback on Students’ Mathematics Performance in Tanzanian Secondary Schools. (2020). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 8(1). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i1.67
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