Psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire on attitudes toward mathematics among economics students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30972/rfce.3528874

Keywords:

attitudes toward mathematics, content validity, reliability, Aiken’s V, Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, economics student

Abstract

The study of attitudes toward a specific discipline –such as Mathematics– has gained increasing relevance in both educational settings and professional training. Accordingly, the present study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties –content validity and reliability– of the Mathematics Attitude Questionnaire (CAHM) among students of the Economics degree program at the Faculty of Economic Sciences (UNNE, Argentina). The instrument, developed ad hoc, consists of 16 items grouped into four dimensions: Affectivity, Applicability, Ability, and Stress, with responses rated on a five-point Likert scale. Content validity was evaluated through expert judgment by three specialists in Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics, applying Aiken’s V coefficient. Results showed values above 0.80 for both clarity and relevance, indicating a high level of agreement among experts. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s ω, and the corrected item–total correlation (ritc), based on a sample of 49 students from the 2024 academic year. Values of α and ω greater than 0.70 and ritc coefficients above 0.40 indicated adequate internal consistency across all dimensions. Overall, the findings confirm that the CAHM exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties for measuring attitudes toward Mathematics in the context of university-level economics education. The instrument is considered a useful tool for future research on the relationship between attitudes and academic performance in the field of economic sciences.

Author Biographies

Antonio Humberto Closas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Argentina

Doctor en Estadística e Investigación Operativa por la Universidad Pública de Navarra (Pamplona, España). Profesor Titular de Inferencia Estadística y Director de Proyectos de Investigación en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Investigador, categoría I, por la Comisión Evaluadora de la UNNE. Coautor de libros y de diversas publicaciones en revistas de impacto científico nacionales y extranjeras. Integrante de distintos comités de arbitraje y consejos editoriales de revistas científicas. Actúa como director o miembro de comisiones de seguimiento y evaluación de tesis de maestrías y doctorados. 

Iván Federico Rodríguez, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Argentina

Diplomado en Ciencia de Datos y Machine Learning. Científico de datos en la ONG Internacional TECHO y en el Instituto Provincial de Estadística y Ciencia de Datos de la Provincia de Corrientes. Estudiante de la Licenciatura en Economía en la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Argentina

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Published

2025-12-01

How to Cite

Closas, A. H., & Rodríguez, I. F. (2025). Psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire on attitudes toward mathematics among economics students. Revista De La Facultad De Ciencias Económicas, 35(2), 29–43. https://doi.org/10.30972/rfce.3528874

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Section

Artículos Científicos

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