Student Gender, Self-Beliefs, and Mathematics Performance for Adolescents in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Mediation Role of Mathematics Self-Concept

Self-beliefs are key to academic performance and career aspirations. Mathematics self-concept has been positively associated with mathematics self-efficacy, interest, and achievement and the desire to pursue quantitative domains. Importantly, underrepresentation of females in mathematics-related careers has been attributed to gender differences in mathematics self-beliefs that favour males. How mathematics self-beliefs might be associated with mathematics performance, the role of mathematics self-concept in mediating between mathematics self-beliefs and performance, and gendered differences in these associations were explored for adolescents (N = 210) from four Aotearoa New Zealand secondary schools. The Mathematics Self-Beliefs in Adolescence Questionnaire was employed to gather data. Good model fit was ascertained via confirmatory factor analysis. Comparison of latent factor means revealed male students’ mathematics interest as significantly higher than female students, and female students’ mathematics self-efficacy (registered as mathematics low self-efficacy) as significantly higher than in male students. A structural equation model showed that mathematics self-concept fully mediated the positive effect of mathematics interest on mathematics achievement, fully mediated the negative effect of mathematics low self-efficacy on mathematics achievement, partially mediated the positive effect of academic self-concept on mathematics achievement, and that academic self-concept had a direct positive effect on mathematics achievement. Implications are suggested for gendered differences in self-beliefs for adolescents in Aotearoa New Zealand that could impact gendered futures in that country. Overall, the findings hold implications for pedagogy and policy to promote positive mathematics self-beliefs for young people, and especially for young women in Aotearoa New Zealand.