Screening the Personal Need for the Structure and solving word problems with fractions

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Mathematics Education

Background:

• Understanding the cognitive and personality factors influencing mathematical competence is crucial for effective pedagogy.
• The Personal Need for Structure (PNS) is a cognitive-personality variable that may impact academic performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between Personal Need for Structure (PNS) and mathematical competence, specifically in fraction-related tasks.
• To determine if PNS, including its subfactors (wish for structure and reaction to lack of structure), influences freshmen's success in solving fraction problems.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study was conducted with 113 freshmen at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia.
• The Personal Need for Structure scale and its subfactors were assessed.
• Statistical analysis, including the Cochrane Q test, was used to examine dependencies between PNS and mathematical knowledge.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant inverse relationship was found between the Personal Need for Structure and the success rate in solving word problems involving fractions.
• Higher scores on the PNS scale and its subfactors (F1 and F2) were associated with lower success rates in solving these problems.

Conclusions:

• Personal Need for Structure appears to negatively impact the ability of freshmen to solve word problems with fractions.
• Further research is warranted to explore the implications of this finding for mathematics education and curriculum development.