Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender

Linval Mitchell; Lois George

doi:10.29333/iejme/12073

Full Text (PDF)

Linval Mitchell ¹ , Lois George ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ The University of the West Indies, Mona, JAMAICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This quantitative, survey research investigated the prevalence of mathematics anxiety among 62 fourth and sixth grade primary level students (aged nine to 12 years). It also explored the correlation between mathematics performance and mathematics anxiety as well as if there was a significant, statistical difference between the mathematics anxiety of males and females. The data relating to mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance were collected using the modified abbreviated math anxiety scale (mAMAS) and a teacher-made mathematics test, respectively. This data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann Whitney U test and Spearman rank order correlation. The results indicated that the prevalence of mathematics anxiety was high among the sample of grade four students while the prevalence rate was considerably lower among the sample of sixth graders. Small, non-significant positive and negative correlations were recorded between mathematics performance and mathematics anxiety for grade four and six students, respectively. Gender differences relating to mathematics anxiety were also non-significant. In light of these mixed findings practical implications and potential directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords

mathematics anxiety
mathematics performance
primary school
gender

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 17, Issue 3, August 2022, Article No: em0692

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

Publication date: 07 May 2022

Article Views: 3323

Article Downloads: 2385

Open Access Disclosures References How to cite this article

Disclosure

Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

References

Ashcraft, M. H., & Faust, M. W. (1994). Mathematics anxiety and mental arithmetic performance: An exploratory investigation. Cognition and Emotions, 8(2) 97-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939408408931
Ashcraft, M. H., & Moore, A. W. (2009). Mathematics anxiety and the affective drop in performance. Journal Psychoeducational Assessment, 27(3),197-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282908330580
Barroso, C., Ganley, C. M., McGraw, A. L., Geer, E. A., Hart, S. A., & Daucourt, M. C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the relation between math anxiety and math achievement. Psychological Bulletin, 147(2), 134-168. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000307
Carey, E., Hill, F., Devine, A., & Szűcs D. (2017). The modified abbreviated math anxiety scale: A valid and reliable instrument for use with children. Frontiers Psychology, 8(11), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00011
Carey, E., Hill, F., Devine, A., & Szucs, D. (2016). The chicken or the egg? The direction of the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1987), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01987
Cipora, K., Santos, F. H., Kucian, K., & Dowker, A. (2022). Mathematics anxiety–where are we and where shall we go? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14770
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315456539
Devine, A., Fawcett, K., Szűcs, D., & Dowker A. (2012). Gender differences in mathematics anxiety and the relation to mathematics performance while controlling for test anxiety. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 8(33), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-9081-8-33
Devine, A., Hill, F., Carey, E., & Szűcs, D. (2018). Cognitive and emotional math problems largely dissociate: Prevalence of developmental dyscalculia and mathematics anxiety. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(3), 431-444. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000222
Dowker, A., Cheriton, O., Horton, R., & Mark, W. (2019). Relationships between attitudes and performance in young children’s mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 100(3), 211-230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-019-9880-5
Dowker, A., Sarkar, A., & Looi, C.Y. (2016). Mathematics anxiety: What have we learned in 60 years? Frontiers in Psychology, 7(508), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00508
Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136(1), 103-127. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018053
Ersozlu, Z., & Karakus M., (2019). Mathematics anxiety: Mapping the literature by bibliometric analysis. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/102441
Foley, A. E., Herts, J. B., Borgonovi, F., Guerriero, S., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2017). The math anxiety-performance link: A global phenomenon. Association for Psychological Science, 26(1) 52-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721416672463
George, L., & Dowdie, D. (2021). Investigating the prevalence of mathematics anxiety and its relationship to gender in high school students in Jamaica. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean, 19(2), 48-74. https://doi.org/10.46425/j219026323
Gresham, G. (2007). A study of mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(2), 181-188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0174-7
Grootenboer, P., Lomas, G., & Ingram, N. (2008). The affective domain and mathematics education. In H. Forgasz, A. Barkatsas, A. J. Bishop, B. Clarke, S. Keast, W. Tiong-Seah, & P. Sullivan (Eds.), Research in mathematics education in Australasia 2004-2007 (pp. 255-270). Brill Sense.
Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal of Research Mathematics Education, 21, 33-46. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.21.1.0033
Hill, F., Mammarella, I. C., Devine, A., Caviola, S., Passolunghi, M. C., & Szűcs, D. (2016). Maths anxiety in primary and secondary school students: Gender differences, developmental changes and anxiety specificity. Learning and Individual Differences,48, 45-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.02.006
Ho, H. Z., Senturk, D., Lam, A. G., Zimmer, J. M., Hong, S., Okamoto, Y., Chiu, S., Nakazawa, Y., & Wang, C. (2000). The affective and cognitive dimensions of math anxiety: A cross-national study. Journal for Resources in Mathematics Education, 31(3), 362-379. https://doi.org/10.2307/749811
Hopko, D. R., Mahadevan, R., Bare, R. L., & Hunt, M. K. (2003). The abbreviated math anxiety scale (AMAS). Assessment 10(2), 178-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191103010002008
Karimi, A., & Venkatesan, S. (2017). Mathematics anxiety, mathematics performance and academic hardiness in high school students. International Journal of Educational Sciences, 1(1), 33-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2009.11889973
Karjanto, N., & Yong, S. T. (2013). Test anxiety in mathematics among early undergraduate students in a British university in Malaysia. European Journal of Engineering Education, 38(1), 11-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2012.742867
Krinzinger, H., Kaufmann, L., & Willmes, K. (2010). Math anxiety and math ability in early primary school years. Journal of Psychology Education Assessment, 27(3), 206-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282908330583
Kucian, K., McCaskey, U., Tuura, R. O., & von Aster, M. (2018a). Neurostructural correlate of math anxiety in the brain of children. Translational Psychiatry, 8(273), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-018-0320-6
Kucian, K., Zuber, I., Kohn, J., Poltz, N., Wyschkon, A., Esser, G., & von Aster M. (2018b). Relation between mathematical performance, math anxiety, and affective priming in children with and without developmental dyscalculia. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(263), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00263
Luttenberger, S., Wimmer, S., & Paechter, M. (2018). Spotlight on math anxiety. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 311-322. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S141421
Ma, X., & Xu, J. (2004). The causal ordering of mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement: A longitudinal panel analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 27(2), 165-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.11.003
Maloney, E. A., & Beilock, S. (2012). Math anxiety: Who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(8), 404-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.008
Morsanyi, K., Mammarella, I. C., Szücs, D., Tomasetto, C., Primi, C., & Maloney, E. A. (2016). Editorial: Mathematical and statistics anxiety: educational, social, developmental and cognitive perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(1083), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01083
Namkung, J. M., Peng, P., & Lin, X. (2019). The relation between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance among school-aged students: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 89(3), 459-496. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319843494
Olmez, I. B., & Ozel, S. (2012). Mathematics anxiety among sixth and seventh grade Turkish elementary school students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 4933-4937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.362
Paechter, M., Macher, D., Martskvishvili, K., Wimmer, S., & Papousek, I. (2017). Mathematics anxiety and statistics anxiety: Shared but also unshared components and antagonistic contributions to performance in statistics. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1196), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01196
Reali, F., Jiménez-Leal, W., Maldonado-Carreño, C., Devine, A., & Szücs, D. (2016). Examining the link between math anxiety and math performance in Colombian students. Revista Colombiana de Psicología [Colombian Journal of Psychology], 25(2), 369-379. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v25n2.54532
Richardson, F. C., & Suinn, R. M. (1972). The mathematics anxiety rating scale: Psychometric data. Journal of Counselling Psychology 19(6), 551-554. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033456
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2000). Purposes and methods of research in mathematics education. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 47(6), 641-649.
Soni, A., & Kumari, S. (2015). The role of parental math anxiety and math attitude in their children’s math achievement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(5), 331-347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9687-5
Sorvo, R., Koponen, T., Viholainen, H., Aro T., Räikkönen, E., Peura, P., Downker, A., & Aro, M. (2017). Math anxiety and its relationship with basic arithmetic skills among primary school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 309-327. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12151
Szczygieł, M. & Pieronkiewicz, B. (2021). Exploring the nature of math anxiety in young children: Intensity, prevalence, reasons. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10986065.2021.1882363
Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53-56. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd
The Gleaner. (November 8, 2019). FLOW reviews network systems amid complaints of service disruptions. The Gleaner. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20191108/flow-reviews-network-systems-amid-complaints-service-disruptions
The Gleaner. (October 4, 2020). Lost in a gap - Electricity, internet issues to continue plaguing remote learning in COVID-era classes. The Gleaner. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20201004/lost-gap-electricity-internet-issues-continue-plaguing-remote-learning
Tobias, S. (1986). Anxiety and cognitive processing of instruction. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-related cognitions in anxiety and motivation (pp. 35-54). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Van Mier, H. I., Schleepen, T. M., & Van den Berg, F. C. (2019). Gender differences regarding the impact of math anxiety on arithmetic performance in second and fourth graders. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(2690), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02690
Vanbinst, K., Bellon, E., & Dowker, A. (2020). Mathematics anxiety: An intergenerational approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1648), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01648
Witt, M. (2012). The impact of mathematics anxiety on primary school children’s working memory. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 263-274. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i2.458
Wu, S. S., Barth, M., Amin, H., Malcarne, V., & Menon, V. (2012). Math anxiety in second and third graders and its relation to mathematics achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 3(162), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00162
Yuksel-Sahin, F. (2008). Mathematics anxiety among 4th and 5th grade Turkish elementary school students. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 3(3), 179-192. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/225
Zhang, J., Zhao N., & Kong, Q. P. (2019). The relationship between math anxiety and math performance: A meta-analytic investigation. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(1613), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01613

How to cite this article

APA

Mitchell, L., & George, L. (2022). Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 17(3), em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

Vancouver

Mitchell L, George L. Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2022;17(3):em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

AMA

Mitchell L, George L. Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2022;17(3), em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

Chicago

Mitchell, Linval, and Lois George. "Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2022 17 no. 3 (2022): em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

Harvard

Mitchell, L., and George, L. (2022). Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 17(3), em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073

MLA

Mitchell, Linval et al. "Exploring mathematics anxiety among primary school students: Prevalence, mathematics performance and gender". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 17, no. 3, 2022, em0692. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12073