Exploring secondary school students’ attitudes towards mathematics through the lens of the ABC model

Purpose This quantitative, cross-sectional survey investigated the relationship between the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of students' mathematics attitudes and achievement. It also explored which component was the most and least dominant, the predictive power of each component on achievement and whether there was a difference in mathematics attitudes by gender. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was employed with 193 Jamaican secondary school students (aged 13–16). Data were collected using the ABC-Model-of-attitude questionnaire alongside teacher-made mathematics examinations. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation, simple linear regression and the Mann–Whitney U test. Findings Results revealed a significant, low, positive relationship between each of the components of attitude and mathematics achievement, as well as moderate, significant correlations between the affective component and both behavioural and cognitive components. The cognitive component emerged as the most dominant, while the behavioural component was the least. No significant gender differences were found across the three components. Practical implications These results underscore the importance of adopting a multidimensional view of mathematics attitudes and highlight the need for targeted, component-specific interventions to improve attitude and achievement. Originality/value This study makes a novel contribution by examining secondary students' mathematics attitudes through the multidimensional ABC (affective, behavioural, cognitive) model within a Caribbean context, where empirical evidence remains limited. Unlike studies that treat attitude as a unidimensional construct, this research disaggregates its components to reveal their distinct relationships and predictive roles in mathematics achievement. Importantly, it provides one of the first empirical applications of the ABC model among Jamaican secondary students, offering context-specific insights to inform targeted interventions, educational policy and future research on improving mathematics outcomes in the region.