RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Modeling the Relationship Among Classroom Climate, Math Self-Concept, and Math Interest in College: A Proposed Humanizing Framework
Page: 1448
Mathematics self-concept and interest are key predictors of student achievement and career choices. While prior studies demonstrated the relationship between these constructs and classroom climate, they predominantly rely on Eurocentric sociocultural theories such as Moos’s framework, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, and the four phase model of interest development. This study proposes a humanizing framework that integrates these theories with the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which emphasizes interconnectedness and shared humanity. In education, Ubuntu pedagogy fosters democratic, respectful, and co-learning environments. The hypothesized model described in this study illustrates how Ubuntu enriches the explanatory power of existing theories to better understand the influence of classroom climate on mathematics self-concept and interest. This framework offers new directions for undergraduate mathematics classroom practice and curriculum design. Future research will use mixed methods to test the hypothesized model