Mathematics competence plays a crucial role in solving problems, developing analytical skills, and providing the essential foundation to build knowledge in understanding the content of other school subjects. However, international large-scale assessment (ILSA) studies have pointed to significant cross-country variation in students’ mathematics competency levels and their motivation to learn mathematics (Mullis et al., 2020). 

Students’ motivation is seen as the driving force behind their learning of mathematics over time (Wigfield et al., 2016). This is coupled with more recent ideas on the need to support strong mathematics self-efficacy (Parker et al., 2014) and positive academic emotions. Expectancy-value theory points out that achievement-related choices are motivated by a combination of students’ expectations for success and task value in particular domains (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020). Control-value theory focuses on the emotions experienced while students are involved in an achievement activity, such as the succeeding or failing emotions that arise as an outcome of an achievement activity (Pekrun et al., 2017). Indeed, empirical evidence speaks in favour of a significant relationship between teachers holding beliefs about their students’ learning, teaching a particular subject or its nature, and student motivation and their academic achievement (Muis & Foy, 2010). Given the influence of teachers’ beliefs, research has found that students report gender-stereotyped teacher ability expectations, particularly in domains of mathematics (e.g., Dickhauser & Meyer, 2006; Lazarides & Watt, 2015). Meanwhile, motivation differs in specific-domain and genders, such as mathematics learning motivation (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020).

Notwithstanding, the positive relationship between motivation and achievement in mathematics has been confirmed (e.g. Garon-Carrier et al., 2016), yet different theoretical perspectives have led to diverse ways of capturing motivation, and thus different strengths and directions of the relationship (Pipa et al.,  2017). Our review of the literature found that, while many studies have measured and incorporated motivation, the nature of the relationship between teacher beliefs and motivation, for example, whether gender mediates this relationship, remains unclear. This is particularly important in the context of motivation and its development, given motivation is also seen as an essential outcome of learning. The present study is designed to investigate the relationship between teachers’ beliefs of the nature of mathematics and different aspects of students’ motivation following the Expectancy-value (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020)  and enjoyment of mathematics (Pekrun et al., 2017), focusing on gender differences in motivational patterns. Building upon the conceptual framework and research objective, we focus on the following research questions (a) Do teachers’ beliefs about the nature and learning of math affect students’ motivation and enjoyment, taking into account students’ math achievement and classroom composition? (b) Are these mechanisms different between boys and girls?

Data were collected from 3rd and 4th-grade mathematics teachers and their students across six European countries (i.e., Norway, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia, and Serbia). The scale used to capture teachers’ beliefs on the nature of mathematics was adapted from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M; Laschke & Blömeke, 2014). Students’ answers were collected with the Expectancy-Value Scale (Peixoto et al., 2022), subscales of intrinsic value, utility, and perceived competence, while enjoyment was captured with a subscale from the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Elementary School (AEQ-ES; Lichtenfeld et al., 2012). Math achievement was measured by a test covering major curricular topics developed using established TIMSS items (Approval IEA-22-022). A joint math competence scale was established across grades due to overlapping items in the grade-specific tests. Mplus was used for statistical analyses (Muthén & Muthén,1998-2017). Missing data were handled using FIML. In all analyses, we used the robust maximum likelihood estimator (MLR). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to examine the measurement properties of latent constructs and test measurement invariance across six countries. We specified two-level random slope structural equation models, using the classroom as the between-level. The model assumed the within-classrooms estimate of the slope and intercept for the regression of students’ motivation and enjoyment on gender (0=girl, 1=boy) as random coefficients. Therefore, the model estimated the mean and the variance of the slopes and the intercepts. A separate analysis was conducted for all six educational systems. We refer to the estimated coefficients of the moderators as Slope_ Enjoy, Slope_ Intrinsic, Slope_ PC, and Slope_Utility. If the mean of the slope is significant, it will imply that the effect of gender did not vary between classrooms but differs within the classroom. The significant variance of slope shows that the effect of gender varies between classrooms. In the next step, we examined whether the student motivation and enjoyment – gender slope can be explained by classroom teacher beliefs about the nature of mathematics (i.e.., mathematics as a set of rules or as a process of inquiry), taking into account student mathematics achievement and classroom composition. This is, therefore, an investigation of cross-level interaction, i.e., if classroom teacher beliefs about the nature of mathematics moderate the within-classroom relationship between gender and student motivation and enjoyment of mathematics learning. The models also included the regression of classroom mathematics achievement on the classroom composition (i.e., % low SES students and % students with behavioural problems).

Metric invariance across countries and grades was confirmed for motivation dimensions (i.e., intrinsic value, utility, and perceived competence), enjoyment and teacher beliefs about the nature of mathematics (mathematics as a set of rules or as a process of inquiry). The estimate of the variance and mean of the Slope tended to be small, and, in most cases, they were non-significant. The variance of Slope_Intrinsic is significant in five countries (excl. Finland), and Slope_ Enjoy is significant in four countries (excl. Estonia and Serbia). The variance Slope_PC is significant in Portugal. Norway and Sweden have a significant variance of Slope_Utility. Correlations between estimates from the negative significant slope regressions were only found in Portugal for Slope_PC on Inquiry and Slope_PC on Rules. The results showed that the effect of inquiry and rules on students’ perceived competence was gender-specific and higher for girls in Portugal. If teachers' beliefs on the nature of mathematics were stronger, girls reported higher perceived competence related to mathematics. The mean of Slope_PC was significant in all six countries. This pattern may reflect gender differences within the classroom, and girls perceiving themselves to be less competent in mastering mathematics. Observations from the student-level models indicate that students’ intrinsic value and perceived competence positively relate to their enjoyment of math in all six countries. The positive relations between utility and enjoyment were confirmed in Finland, Norway, Serbia, and Sweden. At the classroom level, boys were more externally motivated (i.e. higher utility value) to learn mathematics in classrooms composed of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families in Norway. Girls’ intrinsic value was higher in Norwegian and Swedish classrooms saturated by more students with behavioural problems.

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