COMPARING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SOLVING SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS WITH TWO VARIABLES BASED ON EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS

Abstract

Students’ difficulties in solving Systems of Linear Equations with Two Variables (SLETV) problems are often related not only to procedural understanding but also to their beliefs about knowledge and learning. This study examined differences in students’ academic performance in solving SLETV problems based on their levels of epistemological beliefs. The study used a quantitative survey design involving 70 junior high school students studying SLETV at a junior high school in South Tangerang, Indonesia. The researchers selected participants using simple random sampling from several classes taught by the same mathematics teacher. After screening, the researchers included 34 complete, valid responses in the analysis. Data were collected using the Epistemological Belief Questionnaire, which measured four dimensions of epistemological beliefs: time allocation, solution steps, conceptual understanding, and usefulness of mathematics, along with an SLETV achievement test. The data were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post-hoc analysis. The results revealed significant differences in students’ academic performance based on their levels of epistemological beliefs (p < 0.05). Students with low epistemological beliefs performed significantly lower than students with moderate and high epistemological beliefs, while no significant difference was found between the moderate and high groups. The findings indicate that students with more developed epistemological beliefs were associated with better performance in solving SLETV problems, particularly compared with students with low epistemological beliefs. This study contributes to mathematics education research by providing contextual evidence regarding the role of epistemological beliefs in algebra learning. The findings indicate an association between students’ epistemological beliefs and their mathematical performance in solving SLETV problems.