Development of the Competence Resolution of Problems in the Area of ??Mathematics in the Primary Educational Level of Uruguay. Associated factors

Abstract

This paper is based on the thesis, submitted by the undersigned, for obtaining the Master's degree in Public Policy Evaluation, at the ORT University of Uruguay, in the month of April 2004.

The development of the research was directed to the area of Education and analyzed the incidence of factors associated with the development, in the area of Mathematics, of the problem solving competence.

The research started from a theoretical model of educational production function, built on the basis of indicators generated from the 1999 Sample Evaluation in Mathematics and Language in the last grade of the primary cycle (6th year) in Uruguay. This model allowed to explain part of the variation of the academic achievements in the selected competition based on indicators of the inputs and of the processes present in the learning of the analyzed competition.

The model considered as an indicator of achievement, the result in TRI score obtained by the students. From the theoretical foundation and the background in similar studies, carried out to date, a series of eighteen factors related to the achievements was proposed.

We performed a bivariate and trivariate analysis of other factors not present in the model but that do appear in the literature on the subject and for which data are available.

The hypothesized model was subjected to statistical analysis applying multivariate and multilevel techniques. After making the adjustments required for their validity, two final models were reached that try to explain the maximum variance with the minimum number of factors.