The Importance of Mathematics Self-concept and Self-efficacy on Mathematics Achievement: Comparison between the Public and Independent Schools in Sweden

• Achievement gaps in mathematics can be found among education systems all over the world in international large-scale assessment studies (ILSAs). In almost all education systems, students’ socioeconomic status (SES) has been documented as one of the most important factors associated with achievement, known as the “socioeconomic achievement gap” (Chmielewski, 2019), while in other education systems, achievement gaps can be accounted for by gender, immigration background, ethnicity and/or urban-rural locations of schools and students (e.g., Bondy et al., 2017; Brozo et al., 2014; Song et al., 2014). In Sweden, remarkable differences can be observed between public and independent schools and the differences might be explained by a larger share of students with well-educated parents in independent schools than in public schools (Klapp Lekholm, 2008). Taking mathematics as an example, students in independent schools perform better than students from public schools in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), even after controlling the background variables, and the crucial difference in achievement holds consistent from PISA 2003 to PISA 2012 regardless of the sharp decline, and the advantage of independent schools has emerged over time (OECD, 2019). The types of schools (private or public as categorised in PISA) are generally differentiated by the ownership of schools. Private schools refer to schools managed directly or indirectly by a non-government organisation (such as a church, trade union, business or other private institution), while public schools are managed by a public education authority, government agency, or governing board appointed by the government or elected by a public franchise (OECD, 2020). In the Swedish context, instead of private schools, it would be more accurate to use the term independent schools, which can be run by private organisations to operate educational activities through a publicly funded voucher system (Yang Hansen & Gustafsson, 2016) and could be running for profit (Wiborg, 2015). Research also indicates that students’ motivational beliefs seem to be important for academic achievement in the Swedish education system (Klapp, 2018). Previous research has established that student self-beliefs could predict and impact academic achievement, among which self-concept and self-efficacy are the most identified ones (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003; Multon et al., 1991). Mathematics self-concept is an individual’s perceived competence in mathematics (OECD, 2013), and was found strongly related to students’ general mathematics achievement (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003; Ma & Kishor, 1997). Mathematics self-efficacy measures students’ expectations and conviction of what can be accomplished when they need to solve pure and/or applied mathematics tasks. Students’ mathematics self-efficacy had a strong direct effect on mathematics problem-solving despite their general mental ability (Pajares & Kranzler, 1995). It is well established that mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy to a varying degree are associated with students’ mathematics achievement. It has also been observed for many decades that student gender, socioeconomic status and immigration background influence academic achievement, directly and indirectly (e.g., Bondy et al., 2017; Schleicher, 2006). There is still uncertainty, however, regarding how the relations among mathematics self-concept, self-efficacy, student characteristics (SES, gender, immigrationbackground) and mathematics achievement may vary for students in different types of schools (public or independent) in the Swedish education system and over the years. The main aim of the study was to investigate the relative importance of student mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy for mathematics achievement across Swedish public and independent schools over time, concerning student characteristics such as SES, gender and immigration background.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Mathematics

self-concept

self-efficacy

public and independent school

Sweden

PISA

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)