NEW PERSPECTIVE ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO LEARN MATHEMATICS

Abstract

School work emphasizes the most the dynamic and complex nature of motivation. Among the conditions and internal mechanisms of teaching and learning mathematics in school, motivation occupies a privileged position due to the influence it has on the behavior of students and teachers during the process. Epistemological and motivational beliefs of the student are important factors in learning mathematics. From the interaction between the student and the teacher, the particularities of the didactic activities, the classroom climate and the mathematical curriculum results student’s motivational state. Each of these factors of motivational dynamics can generate obstacles of motivational nature which middle school students face in learning mathematics. Students’ perceptions and beliefs of school mathematics influence their level of motivation and thus the school success.