In figure 2; above is visualized how self-efficacy beliefs form and develop in a learning process where a student´s personal knowledge of math and own learning skills activate her/his motivation towards the learning situation when having a certain assignment. Depending on the student´s judgments of her/his personal capabilities the learning circle can affect profoundly in good or bad into her/his achievement. A motivating assignment has a key role in keeping the student´s learning circle in progress and supporting student´s achievements. Dweck (2002) stresses that it is very important to focus on processes that create achievement. Motivation is an important determinant predicting students’ achievement as it is define by (Zhu ; Leung, 2011) and Moula (2010) observes that motivation is one of the factors that contribute to academic success; that parents and educators are strive to understand the importance of promoting and encouraging academic motivation early in life. Self-efficacy and motivation to learn have highly effective predictor of students’ motivation, learning and exert significant influence on academic achievement.
It is believed that promoting self-efficacy and internalized motivational orientations should be given high priority in educational activities. Math self-efficacy and achievement are related, so it should come as no surprise for these students to have both low math achievement and low self-efficacy (Bonne, 2016). In the area of math performance, various researchers (pajares, 1996; Pajares & Miller, 1994) have reported that student judgment of their capability to solve math problem are predictive of their actual capability to solve those problems. These judgments also mediate the influences of other predictive such as math background, math anxiety, and perceived usefulness of math, prior achievement and gender Genene, (2014, p.12) state that in this modern era, science and math have become the backbone for the prosperity in each and every field of life.
Family, teacher, school leaders and concerned bodies will have to pay attention on student’s studies during their educational career. Thus, educators need to think of strategies that could enhance student’s self -efficacy belief and academic achievement in math. One of the various human activities in which impacts of self-efficacy manifest themselves is learning. Since perceived self-efficacy determines the level of students’ academic achievement, it will be addressed in the target schools by researcher especially those who are involved in academics. A number of researchers suggest self-efficacy theory as a comprehensive mode for math teachers for enhancing students’ self-efficacy belief and academic achievements through designing appropriate instructional strategies complement with the traditional method of teaching math, (Ellen, U.L., and Frank Pajares, cited by Getachew and Birhane, 2016, p.
121). Family background is key to a students’ life and outside of school, is the most important influence on student learning and includes factors such as socio economic status, two-parent versus single-parent households, divorce, parenting practices and aspirations, maternal characteristics, family size, and neighborhood stated by (Majoribanks 1996). The environment at home is a primary socialization agent and influences a child’s interest in school and aspirations for the future. The socio-economic status (SES) of a child is most commonly determined by combining parents’ educational level, occupational status, and income level (Jeynes 2002). Socioeconomic status has often simply indicated a level of poverty. Studies have repeatedly found that SES affects student outcomes.
It is reported by (Thien and Ong, 2015)), that research has found that SES correlates with individual’s academic achievement and there is evidence showing that there is a connection between children’s cognitive development and SES. Higher SES is associated with better academic performance and the effect of individual SES on academic self-concept is positive students with a lower level of SES are less likely to have access to reading and learning materials, which results in their failure in school. Schmid (2001) believed that the influence of family income, the occupations of parents, and the general family structure contributed to students’ school achievement. Therefore, parents’ socio-economic status (SES) had a strong and positive effect on children’s achievement. Students from higher socioeconomic status, experienced greater parent involvement in their education (Vellymalay, 2012), which enabled these students to receive the necessary skills, knowledge, behavior and values that were needed by their children for academic success. Children, whose parents were better educated, made more money, had higher-status jobs, and lived in two parent families tended to attain higher levels of education than do other minorities- summary of Family background Factor
