Motivated Strategies for Learning Mathematics and Academic Success among Secondary Students, Kajonkietsuksa School, Phuket, Thailand

The importance of Mathematics motivation and learning strategies cannot be overstated in the student's learning experience and success. This research aimed to investigate the students' learning motivation and their ability to use learning strategies when learning the mathematics discipline, using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) as the primary tool for data collection. The study was conducted on 30 private secondary students under the English Programme of a school in Phuket province, Thailand, specifically Mattayom 1 (grade 7) who took Mathematics Extended as classification. After analyzing the data using multiple regression, it was observed that the respondents struggled with their motivation and use of learning strategies, as indicated by their low-level projections on the MSLQ scales. Therefore, intervention is necessary to address these issues. Although most of the respondents achieved knowledge and skills in the different learning objectives, a substantial number of them still need further assistance to enhance their mastery level in Mathematics. Additionally, while most of the respondents performed above average in Mathematics, there were still a considerable number of students who needed appropriate facilitation to improve their performance. The study also found that the respondents' sex, age, and nationality had no significant relationship with their academic success in terms of Mathematics performance, nor was there a significant degree of relationship observed between the respondents' age and sex and their motivated strategies for learning Mathematics. However, a significant degree of relationship was found between the respondents' nationality and motivated strategies for learning Mathematics. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between Motivated Strategies for Learning Mathematics and Mathematics Performance, but a significant correlation was found between the level of motivation and learning strategies. Overall, this study emphasizes the need to improve students' motivation and use of effective learning strategies by using an intervention program that the researcher had suggested to enhance their academic performance in Mathematics. MSLQ proved to be a useful tool in identifying the areas that require intervention, highlighting the importance of assessing and addressing students' motivational and learning strategy needs.