| The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of cognitive and non-cognitive factors on the mathematics academic performance of African American engineering students. The sample of this study consisted of 276 African American students majoring in engineering at universities across the United States with engineering programs that are affiliated with the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators.;A combination of research designs were used in this study. They were correlational and "ex post facto" designs. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Rating Scales (MARS) were employed to assess students' mathematics anxiety, attitude, and mother's and father's interest in their ability. High school mathematics performance was measured by the students' average mathematics performance grade in high school. Also, the variable college mathematics performance was measured by the students' average mathematics performance grade in college.;Depending on the particular regression equation, the independent and dependent variables in this study were high school mathematics performance, college mathematics performance, mathematics application, attitudes toward mathematics, mother's interest in mathematics, father's interest in mathematics and gender. The ultimate dependent variable was college mathematics performance, operationally defined as average mathematics performance grade in college.;Among the conclusions of this study was that father's interest in students' mathematics ability, mother's interest in students' mathematics ability, and mathematics application ability had a direct effect on engineering students' high school mathematics performance. The study also suggest that mathematics application ability was another significant factor in understanding the success of African American students' high school mathematics performance. The variables mathematics application ability, high school mathematics performance, and gender had a direct effect on students' attitudes toward mathematics. Nevertheless, the variable gender was found to have a direct independent effect on students' attitudes toward mathematics. In addition, the study indicated that mother's and father's interest in students' mathematics performance through high school mathematics performance did not have an indirect effect on students' attitudes toward mathematics. There was also a direct linear relationship between attitudes toward mathematics, high school mathematics performance, and mathematics anxiety. However, only the variable attitude towards mathematics had a significant independent effect on mathematics anxiety. The variable attitudes toward mathematics, was shown not to have an indirect effect on academic performance in college mathematics through mathematics anxiety. But, irrespective of the direction of the effect, high school mathematics academic performance and mathematics application ability were found to be significantly related to academic performance in college mathematics. |
