Attitude and Level of Interest of Grade 7 Students in Mathematics 1 Under K-12 Program

Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
Mathematics is the abstract study of topics such as quantity (numbers), structure, space, and change. There is a range of views among mathematicians and philosophers as to the exact scope and definition of mathematics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics). The mathematics of today’s generation has a biggest change than those years have passed by specially for the First Year High School level, it is because for the changes of curriculum that we have before. The Educational System that we have now in our country is what we called K-12 Program.
The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.
Every Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly adjust to formal education.
Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten have better completion rates than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program are better prepared, for primary education. Education for children in the early years lays the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a child. The early years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when the brain grows to at least 60-70 percent of adult size (Ref: K to 12 Toolkits).
In Kindergarten, students learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games, songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue. Students are able to learn best through their first language, their Mother Tongue (MT). Twelve (12) MT languages have been introduced for SY 2012-2013: Bahasa Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray. Other local languages will be added in succeeding school years.
Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are taught as subjects starting Grade 1, with a focus on oral fluency. From Grades 4 to 6, English and Filipino are gradually introduced as languages of instruction. Both will become primary languages of instruction in Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS). After Grade 1, every student can read in his or her Mother Tongue. Learning in Mother Tongue also serves as the foundation for students to learn Filipino and English easily.
Subjects are taught from the simplest concepts to more complicated concepts through grade levels in spiral progression. As early as elementary, students gain knowledge in areas such as Biology, Geometry, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Algebra. This ensures a mastery of knowledge and skills after each level. For example, currently in High School, Biology is taught in 2nd Year, Chemistry in 3rd Year and Physics in 4th Year. In K to 12, these subjects are connected and integrated from Grades 7 to 10. This same method is used in other Learning Areas like Math.
Senior High School is two years of specialized upper secondary education; students may choose a specialization based on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career track will define the content of the subjects a student will take in Grades 11 and 12. SHS subjects fall under either the Core Curriculum or specific Tracks. There are seven Learning Areas under the Core Curriculum. These are Languages, Literature, Communication, Mathematics, Philosophy, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. Current content from some General Education subjects are embedded in the SHS curriculum. Each student in Senior High School can choose among three tracks: Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports and Arts. The Academic track includes three strands: Business, Accountancy, Management (BAM); Humanities, Education, Social Sciences (HESS); and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).
Students undergo immersion, which may include earn-while-you-learn opportunities, to provide them relevant exposure and actual experience in their chosen track. After finishing Grade 10, a student can obtain Certificates of Competency (COC) or a National Certificate Level I (NC I). After finishing a Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track in Grade 12, a student may obtain a National Certificate Level II (NC II), provided he/she passes the competency-based assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). NC I and NC II improves employability of graduates in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade.
In SY 2012-2013, there are 33 public high schools, public technical-vocational high schools, and higher education institutions (HEIs) that have implemented Grade 11. This is a Research and Design (R&D) program to simulate different aspects of Senior High School in preparation for full nationwide implementation in SY 2016-2017. Modeling programs offered by these schools are based on students’ interests, community needs, and their respective capacities. After going through Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduates will be ready to go into different paths – may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.

Program implementation in public schools is being done in phases starting SY 2012–2013. Grade 1 entrants in SY 2012–2013 are the first batch to fully undergo the program, and current 1st year Junior High School students (or Grade 7) are the first to undergo the enhanced secondary education program. To facilitate the transition from the existing 10-year basic education to 12 years, DepEd is also implementing the SHS and SHS Modeling.
Private schools craft their transition plans based on: (1) current/previous entry ages for Grade 1 and final year of Kinder, (2) duration of program, and most importantly, (3) content of curriculum offered (http://www.gov.ph/k-12/). The mathematics subject offered among first year junior high school (or Grade 7) students nowadays are more advanced than those offered on the previous curriculum. Our educational system today, especially with the implementation of K-12 Curriculum, paves the way for a wider and more comprehensive listing of topics which include Number Theory, Decimal numbers, Operations with decimals, Integers, Operations with integers, Fractions and mixed numbers, Operations with fractions, Rational numbers, Exponents and square roots, Ratios and proportions, Percents, Consumer math, Problem solving and estimation, Measurement, Charts and graphs, Geometry, Transformations, Pythagorean Theorem, Coordinate graphs, Number sequences, Variable expressions, Single-variable equations, Inequalities, Linear functions, Properties, Probability and Statistics designed to achieve the desired outcomes in the field of Mathematics.
Statement of the Problem The study determined the Attitude and Level of Interest of Grade-Seven students in Mathematics I under K-12 Program in Samar College, Catbalogan City during school year 2013-2014. Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the student-respondents in terms of: 1.1 age and sex; 1.2 parents’ educational attainment; 1.3 parents’ occupation; and 1.4 average monthly family income? 2. What are the attitudes of student-respondents’ towards their Mathematics I under K-12 Program? 3. Is there a significant relationship between the student-respondents’ attitude in Mathematics I under K-12 Program and profile variates? 4. What are the levels of interest of student-respondents in Mathematics I under K-12 Program?
5. Is there a significant relationship between the student-respondents’ level of interest in Mathematics I under K-12 Program? 6. Is there a significant relationship between the student-respondents’ attitudes and level of interest in Mathematics I under K-12 Program?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested in this study to shed light to the problems under consideration: 1. There is no significant relationship between the student-respondents’ attitude in Mathematics I under K-12 Program and profile variates. 2. There is no significant relationship between the student-respondents’ level of interest in Mathematics I under K-12 Program. 3. There is no significant relationship between the student-respondents’ attitudes and level of interest in Mathematics I under K-12 Program.
Theoretical Framework An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150).
Attitudes structure can be described in terms of three components. * Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”. * Behavioural (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”. * Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”. This model is known as the ABC model of attitudes. The three components are usually linked. However, there is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of behavior do not always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by LaPiere (1934). Green states that any attitude is a hypothetical or latent variable rather than an immediately observable variable. It is, in other words, an abstraction. According to Green, the concept of attitude does not refer to any one specific act or response of an individual, but it is an abstraction from a large number of related acts or responses. When we state that a certain individual, A, has a less favorable attitude towards trade unions than another individual, B, we mean that A's words and deeds are consistently less favorable to trade unions than B's words and deeds. So we conclude that there is an underlying attitude which mediates between the stimuli (e.g. union activities which evoke comment or behavior) and the response (favorable or unfavorable comments, etc.). Campbell emphasizes the characteristics of attitude that are basic to all attitude measurement, i.e. response co-variation, when he defines an individual's social attitude as an enduring "syndrome of response consistency with regard to a set of social objects." Katz defines attitude as "the predisposition of an individual to evaluate some symbol or object or aspect of his world in a favorable or unfavorable manner." It is interesting that his 'predisposition' corresponds to the 'latent variable' of Green, though his definition takes in at the same time the response co-variation which Campbell stresses. The structural hierarchy of attitudes organized into value systems need not concern us here, for the elaboration is not relevant to the present topic. It is clear, however, that values are never completely isolated either from the other values of the individual or from those values held by the prevalent society. Opinion is, according to Katz, the verbal expression of an attitude. Here we run into difficulty. It is not always easy to interpret an opinion since the underlying attitude often escapes us. Radin and Glasser have discussed some of the difficulties associated with data interpretation when researchers employ parental attitude questionnaires with culturally deprived families. There is the problem of language complexity, for instance. One very obvious implication for social group work is the desirability of having attitude change expressed in behavioral change outside the group. This can be more solid evidence of a change of mind than its verbal expression within the group.
Conceptual Framework Figure 1 show the diagram needed in the study. The bottom structure of the diagram shows the respondents of the study- the Grade-Seven High School students who were taking Mathematics I under K-12 Program during the school year 1013-2104. It includes the research environment of the study which is the Samar College High School Laboratory, Catbalogan City. The next upper box is subdivided into two parts; the right box is the students’ profile which includes age and sex, parents’ educational attainment, parents’ occupation, and parents’ monthly income which is connected to the level of interest and attitudes of the learning toward Mathematics I under K-12 Program.

Improved Performance of Grade-Seven High School Students in Mathematics I under K-12 Program

F
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F
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Samar College
Grade-Seven High School Students
Students-respondents
Profile Variates * Age and Sex * Parents’ Educational Attainment * Parents’ Occupation * Parents’ Monthly Income
Attitudes toward Mathematics I under K-12 Program
Level of Interest Findings/ Implication/ Recommendation

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study.
The double arrowhead between them determines the relationship between level of interest and attitudes, and the profile variates – age, sex, parents’ educational attainment, parents’ occupation and parents’ monthly income of the Grade-seven High School students is also connected the double arrowhead, which means that the relationships between the variates determined age and sex, parents’ occupation, parents’ monthly income, level of interest and attitudes are all profile variates. The next frame shows the findings, implication, and recommendation of the study. The data that will be gathered from the respondents will be statistically analyzed and will be interpreted to be determining the student-respondents attitude and level of interest in Mathematics I under K-12 Program. The most top frame shows the improvement of academic performance of the Grade-Seven students in Mathematics I under K-12 Program.
Significance of the Study The findings of the study provided valuable insight and practical suggestions to the following people, namely: to the students, to the mathematics teachers, school administration, parents and future researchers. To the students. K-12 is a big help to every student in such a way that he/she would recognize the activities where he/she would be productive. The students will be able to engage themselves to where their talents will be enhanced and would be an asset in the society. They would have the chance to be transformed into a better citizen by using their potentials in a useful manner. Students will develop their self confidence and will be responsive and responsible to the demands of their community. By integrating and putting into good use the individual differences and individual capacity, each will achieve and fulfill his/her unique destiny. The result of this study will provide an improvement to their performance and will develop the attitude and level of interest toward the subject. To the Mathematics Teachers. The findings of this study will help to enhance and improve the quality of their teaching strategies, methods and instructional materials. It will also serve as guide on how to understand and deal with the students attitude and level of interest in the subject. To the Parents. The outcome of this investigation will provide the parents basis for whatever contribution they want to initiate to their children toward the subject in order for them to cope up with the subject. To the School Administration. The result of this study will provide proper direction to the school administration on what to do in order to improve the educational system in general and to enhance the quality of teaching specifically in teaching the subject. It offers an explanation and representation of the various attitudes that should be given much attention and analysis to improve what has to be improved in our current educational system. It could help the academe understand and be open to the changes and to the differences of each student. The academe, with the improved and better educational system, could implement curricula based on the students’ mental, emotional, physical and moral maturity. To Future Researcher. The outcome of this study will be used as a rich related reference material or information for the future researchers who will conduct similar study. This would give them knowledge as to the type of studies they would have to make in their time. This would give them idea to conduct studies which are related to attitude and level of interest of Grade 7 students in mathematics I under K-12 Program.
Scope and Delimitation
This study focused mainly on the relationship between the level of interest and attitude in Mathematics I under K-12 Program of the student-respondents. This study covered 169 student-respondents who are Grade-Seven high school students enrolled in Mathematics I during the school year 2013-2014. The study would be conducted at Samar College, Catbalogan City.
Definition of Terms. To give the readers clearer understanding of this research, the following terms are here to define conceptually and operationally. Attitudes. Conceptually, this is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150). Operationally, this term refers to a mental position with regard to a fact or state.
Grade-Seven. Conceptually, the Seventh grade (called grade seven or year 7 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of grade school. In the United States and Canada, it is usually the second, third, or last year of middle school, the first year of junior high school or the 7th year of grade school. In Quebec, it is usually the last year of elementary school, or the first year of high school (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh_grade). Operationally, this term refers to the First Year High School level in the old curriculum. Nowadays through the new Educational System in our country it is now called the First Year Junior High School (or Grade 7).
Level of Interest. Conceptually, this term refers to the feeling of a person whose attention, concern, or curiosity is particularly engaged by something (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interest). Operationally, this term refers to the quality of such stimulation.
K-12 Program. Conceptually, the K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship (http://www.gov.ph/k-12/). Operationally, this term refers to the two years added to the basic curriculum in the country.
Mathematics. Conceptually, this term refers to the abstract study of topics such as quantity (numbers), structure, space, and change (http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Mathematics). Operationally, this is the systematic treatment of magnitude, relationships between figures and forms, and relations between quantities expressed symbolically.