Analysis of Students’ Errors in Solving Mathematical Literacy Problems Based on Newman Procedure and Self-Efficacy
Abstract
Low mathematical literacy among Indonesian students indicates that students still experience difficulties in understanding contextual information, representing it in mathematical models, and determining appropriate solution strategies. These difficulties may result in different patterns of errors and may be associated with students’ self-efficacy. This study aimed to describe students’ errors in solving mathematical literacy problems in algebra based on the Newman Procedure and self-efficacy. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach involving eighth-grade students at SMP Negeri 1 Makassar during the 2025/2026 academic year. Six students were purposively selected, with two students representing each self-efficacy category: high, moderate, and low. Data were obtained through a self-efficacy questionnaire, a diagnostic mathematical literacy test, and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was used to determine the students’ self-efficacy categories, after which the selected participants completed the diagnostic test and were interviewed to explore their problem-solving processes. Data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings revealed different patterns of errors across self-efficacy levels. Students with high self-efficacy were able to read and comprehend the problems well but still made errors in the transformation, process skills, and final answer encoding stages. Students with moderate self-efficacy made errors across all Newman stages, particularly in interpreting symbols and information, constructing mathematical models, and carrying out calculations. Meanwhile, students with low self-efficacy demonstrated more complex and continuous error patterns, beginning at the reading stage and affecting subsequent stages of problem solving. These findings indicate that self-efficacy levels are associated with the characteristics and complexity of students’ errors; therefore, error diagnosis should be used to design instructional support that addresses students’ needs at each stage of problem solving.