Transition from primary to secondary education. A look from the affective domain towards mathematics

Abstract

The discipline of mathematics is one of the areas of the school curriculum that historically causes high rates of loss, failure or repetition. This adverse effect has been the motivation for a good number of researchers to advance their work, some from the disciplinary point of view, which have focused on identifying the difficulties that prevent the correct appropriation of mathematical concepts, and others from the educational point of view, aimed at identifying pedagogical problems in the teaching process. In recent decades, the influence of the affective component has emerged as a determining factor in the success or failure of mathematics. It is in this scenario that the present article is focused, since it aims to analyse the effect that the descriptors of the affective domain have on academic performance in this discipline, with the consideration of whether this rejection is due to the work of the teacher or to the contents of the subject. For this purpose, a group of 869 students from seven public institutions was formed, who by 2020 were enrolled in one of the fourth, fifth or sixth grades, and who were recruited by means of voluntary sampling. The results allow us to identify the influence that beliefs, attitudes and emotions towards mathematics have on the academic performance of students in the discipline. At the same time, the role of the teacher is recognised as a crucial element in building positive attitudes towards the subject.