A strong mathematics background is essential for job opportunities and advancement in a developing country like Malaysia. It gives students the confidence and ability to solve problems and become rational as well as critical in their thinking. However, Malaysian students’ mathematics achievement is relatively low as compared to other school subjects. This difference is more pronounced in rural schools. Previous studies have highlighted the relationship between students’ attitude and achievement in mathematics. Hence, it is important to investigate the contributing factors that affect students’ attitudes towards mathematics. This book is adapted and modified from a PhD thesis entitled: “Factors affecting students’ attitude towards mathematics in Sabah, Malaysia” of the first author. In this book, the relationships among perceived parental influences, teacher affective support, classroom instruction, gender, SES, students’ previous achievement and students’ attitude towards mathematics are portrayed using Structural Equation Modeling approach. Findings from the study can be utilised to understand the complex interplay of relationships that form students’ attitude towards mathematics, including factors that can be addressed by the classroom mathematics teacher. This book will be useful for secondary school mathematics teachers, researchers, school administrators, students, and policymakers.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is one of the projects of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), located at Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Hamburg, Germany. IEA is an independent cooperative of national educational research institutions and governmental research agencies dedicated to improving education. TIMSS is conducted regularly for every four years to assess students’ achievement in science and mathematics at both the fourth and eighth grades. The project is dedicated to providing participating countries with information to improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics. This book is written especially for the interest of undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and educators of science education who wish to know more about the contributing factors to Grade 8 students’ science achievement in TIMSS. This book is also resourceful for individuals who are involved, directly or indirectly, in the administration and implementation of TIMSS at the national, state, district, and school levels. This book consists of seven chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to TIMSS which includes the TIMSS curriculum model and TIMSS science assessment frameworks. The subsequent chapters compare the contribution of various factors, i.e., home environment support, school resources, school climate, teacher preparation, and classroom instructions on Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students’ science achievement in TIMSS 2011. Last but not least, recommendations on ways to improve Malaysian Grade 8 students’ science achievement in the forthcoming TIMSS are suggested based on the experiences of the Singaporean education system.

Science education is important as it equips students with scientific knowledge that can enrich their everyday lives. It helps students to solve problems, learn to be rational as well as be critical in their thinking. However, science learning is deemed challenging as students see the subject as difficult and sometimes tedious to learn. Thus, interest in science is essential to ensure continuous learning in science. It is important to promote positive attitudes towards science among students. Positive attitudes towards science are associated with better achievement in science, increased cooperation as well as participation in class. Malaysia needs a generation who are creative and critical thinkers, thus it is vital to enhance students’ attitudes towards science. As students spend most of their time in a classroom, therefore, shaping students’ perceptions of science classroom environment is crucial in enhancing their attitudes towards science. This book is adapted and modified from a master’s degree thesis entitled: “Relationship between Form 4 Students’ Perceptions of Science Classroom Environment and Attitudes towards Science” of the first author. This book includes analysis of students’ perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes towards science. This book attempts to answer questions regarding the level of students’ perceptions of science classroom environment, the level of students’ attitudes towards the effect of gender and school locations on students’ perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes towards science, and the influence of perceptions of science classroom environment on students’ attitudes towards science. This book will be of interest to researchers in science education, especially, perceptions of science classroom environment and attitudes towards science.