The Behavior of Students in Solving Mathematical Literacy Problems

Abstract

Research on mathematical literacy has mainly emphasized on cognitive aspects, overlooking metacognitive, affective, and psychomotor factors that also influence literacy. A comprehensive approach that integrates all three domains is essential for understanding students’ mathematical literacy behavior. This study aimed to develop a behavioral rubric for mathematical literacy and to classify the literacy behaviors of Indonesian junior high school students. Participants included 309 students from five cities representing different islands: Padang, Semarang, Pontianak, Makassar, and Mataram. Two schools in each city were purposively selected, followed by random sampling of students. Instruments consisted of a behavioral rubric and a valid, reliable mathematical literacy test developed for this study. Test responses were analyzed for cognitive aspects, while interviews with six students per class provided data into cognitive, metacognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. This study has developed a behavioral rubric for mathematical literacy, comprising three categories and revealed that most students demonstrated moderate mathematical literacy (61.48%). Three categories of mathematical literacy behavior were identified: Inferior (45.28%), Regular (28.3%), and Superior (26.42%). The distribution of students across each behavior category will be discussed in detail in this paper. This research contributes to the field of education by emphasizing the importance of developing students’ mathematical literacy through cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, thereby guiding teachers and schools in designing more balanced learning strategies.