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Numeracy and Health Numeracy Among Chinese and Kenyan Immigrants to Canada

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  • S. Gatobu
  • J. F. Arocha
  • L. Hoffman-Goetz

Abstract

Mathematics self-efficacy plays an important role in the performance of quantitative tasks. The objective of this study was to examine the role of mathematics self-efficacy in numeracy and health numeracy among immigrants (60 Mandarin-speaking and 60 Kikuyu-speaking immigrants to Canada) for whom English was a second language (ESL). Two French Kit numeracy tasks (the addition, and the addition and subtraction correction tasks) constituted objective measures of numeracy, and the numeracy component of a health literacy instrument (The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults [S-TOFHLA]) constituted the health numeracy measure. We measured math self-efficacy using the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) and the Subjective Numeracy Scale (SNS). All measures were presented in English. Kikuyu speakers had lower math self-efficacy ( p

Suggested Citation

  • S. Gatobu & J. F. Arocha & L. Hoffman-Goetz, 2014. "Numeracy and Health Numeracy Among Chinese and Kenyan Immigrants to Canada," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(1), pages 21582440145, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:4:y:2014:i:1:p:2158244014521437
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244014521437
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    1. Gustavo Morán-Soto & Juan Antonio Valdivia Vázquez & Omar Israel González Peña, 2022. "Adaptation Process of the Mathematic Self-Efficacy Survey (MSES) Scale to Mexican-Spanish Language," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, March.

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