The Role of Cognitive Styles, Advancement Goals and Mathematics Self Efficiency in the Student's Advancements in Mathematics in High Schools of Mashhad City

This research aims at studying the roles of cognitive styles، advancement goals، and mathematics self efficiency in the students'' advancements in mathematics. The partici-pants of the research are 263 first grade high school students in Tabatkan district which were selected using the two stage cluster sampling method. The students received a questionnaire for the two cognitive styles of field dependence and field independence، Midglay et al (1998) questionnaire of goal direction، and themathematicsselfefficiencyquestionnaire. Thecollecteddatefromthesequestionnaires were analyzed using Pearson''s correlation method، T score and multi level regression formula. The results showed that there is a positiveandsignificantrelationship between cognitive styles، advancement goals، mathematicsselfefficiencyandmathematics advancement. Also it was revealed that self efficiency has a higher role in predicting mathematics advancement. The results also suggest that field independent students showed more mathematics self efficiency. Additionally they had high scores in mastering goals. On the other hand field dependent students had high scores in avoidance goal. Moreover the study shows that there is a significant relationship between mastering goals and mathematic self efficiency. Also there is a direct and significant relationship between the rate of self efficiency and the score of orientation goal. There is a significant indirect relationship between the rate of self efficiency and avoidance goal score. Finally the study shows that the students'' performance in mathematics can be directly predicted through cognitive styles، advancement goals and mathematics self efficiency. However in step by step regression analysis it was revealed that the role of the beliefs of mathematics self efficiency is superior to the roles of the advancement goals and cognitive styles.