Mathematics learning in the Israeli junior high school

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Learning mathematics in the Israeli junior highschool has become a serious problem in the educationsystem in the last 20 years. In Israel the learningof high level mathematics is a condition for beingaccepted to any high prestige university department.Thus it is crucial to learn what are the educational, psychological and motivational components involved inthe learning of mathematics. I have examined thesecomponents in grades 7, 8, 9, and 10 of a secular, mixed Jewish school, religious school with single-sexclasses, secular mixed Arab school, and Arab girls'school, among 800+ students. The most important results of my study have been thatthere is no gender gap in school performance of mathin the Israeli junior high school, motivationalcomponents have had no influence on the actual mathgrades in any of the sub-groups, and Arab girls insingle-sex classes scored the highest in internalmotivation and in believability of own math abilitiesand the lowest in stability of math abilities. Inaddition, within one year the students in theless-prestige religious Jewish school scored as highas those learning in the other Jewish school, considered one of the best in Israel.