Attitudes towards mathematics in secondary school students. Personal and family factors (Las actitudes hacia las matematicas del alumnado de secundaria. Factores personales yfamiliares)

The importance of the affective domain in maths learning has been analysed since the 1980s. Among the explanatory variables of this domain, this study focuses on attitude towards mathematics and its relationship with important personal and family variables. Specifically, it analyses relationships with the family environment, family communication, self-concept and resilience in a sample of 203 students in all four years of secondary education in a school located in a disadvantaged area. The main results show that attitude towards mathematics decreases from the first to the third year and goes up again in the fourth year. A better overall academic self-concept or mathematical self-concept is related to a more positive attitude towards mathematics. In the family, mothers exert a greater influence on this attitude than fathers. Finally, males have a more positive attitude towards mathematics, and in particular a higher mathematical self-concept, than females. The educational implications of the results are discussed, stressing the need to consider the affective domain in order to make educational interventions effective.