Abstracts - Earli

compared to those for false answers. This central outcome can also be found for different abilitygroups, brighter persons however invest more time when working on a pure power test.Additionally, mean response time seems to be an intervening variable between test-anxiety andperformance in a power test. Based on these results it is suggested that test-anxiety as well asextraversion (although to a minor degree) are taken into account to provide better interpretations toall subjects and not to underestimate high anxious people in test-like events. Response latenciesseem to be a new parameter which can easily be recorded in computerized testing environments.Further consequences for diagnostics of individual abilities in will be discussed.Expressing mathematical beliefs in pictures and textsStefan Halverscheid, Univ. Bremen, GermanyKatrin Rolka, Univ. Dortmund, GermanyA design for investigating mathematical beliefs is presented as an alternative to the use ofquestionnaries. Firstly, students are asked to express their views on mathematics on a sheet ofpaper by drawing a picture. In a second step, they explain their work in a written text. Criteria forthe assessment of this data are presented to identify Earnest’s established categories formathematical beliefs: instrumentalist view, Platonist view, and problem solving view. Aninterrater design is used to check on the reliability of the method. The raters were trained tointerpret the children’s work according to the suggested criteria on mathematical beliefs. Appliedto a sample of 131 students, the method shows that an instrumentalist view appears morefrequently among German students from grade 9 than among students of grade 5. The samples ofgrades 3 to 12 indicate that older students tend to identify their beliefs on mathematics more withtheir views on the teaching of mathematics than young children. Older students bring up theirlearning difficulties in their pictures and texts more frequently than younger students. This istypically accompanied by the expression of negative emotions like disappointment or frustration.The study of affects and the development of beliefs over the grades are promising features of thisapproach.M 531 August 2007 14:35 - 15:55Room: -1.62Paper SessionReligious education and education for peaceChair:Kees van Putten, University of Leiden, NetherlandsThe meanings of ‘Religion’. An empirical study on the differences in religious literacy amongsixth-grade students and theology students.Martin Ubani, University of Helsinki, FinlandThe aim of this paper is to report the differences in the perceptions of religion among Finnishsixth-grade students and theology students. The paper based on empirical data. The first group inthe study consists of 12-13 year old pupils (N = 101). The other group in this study are theologystudents majoring in RE in the University of Helsinki (N = 40). The data consists of 775expressions given to religion by the sixth-grade students and theology students. The qualitative– 693 –