Teacher and Students' Mathematics Anxiety and Achievement in a Low‐Income National Context

Abstract

Negative relationships between mathematics anxiety and achievement appear in many countries globally (Lee, 2009; OECD, 2013), suggesting that mathematics anxiety could be an underconsidered factor in regions with persistently low mathematics achievement. We draw on a national sample of students and their teachers in Belize to examine relations between mathematics anxiety and achievement. The data replicated the negative relationships between students' math anxiety and achievement observed in many higher achieving, higher resourced regions, and importantly also revealed that teachers' mathematics anxiety predicted their students' mathematics attitudes and sometimes achievement. The effects were small overall so the robustness of this relationship is not clear, but they provide novel data toward building a comprehensive theory of mathematics anxiety's relationship to achievement across cultural, gender and age contexts, and offer insight into how addressing mathematics anxiety might improve mathematics teaching and achievement in low resourced countries. Mathematical proficiency is a global area of concern, and improving the efficacy of mathematics education is viewed by many as a key to increasing nations' successful participation in the global economy. In light of the growing

Perceptions of Teaching Approach and Academic Performance among Senior Two Students in Musanze: Mediating Role of Mathematics Anxiety and Career Aspiration

“…Although many studies indicate that mathematics anxiety and achievement are negatively related (Hembree, 1990;Meece et al, 1990;Richland et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2021), the direction of this relationship is still unclear (Carey et al, 2016;Foley et al, 2017). The literature suggests that: (i) mathematics anxiety contributes to poor mathematics performance ( Richland et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2021), (ii) poor mathematics performance contributes to mathematics anxiety (Alkan, 2018). Accordingly, the current study hypothesized a bidirectional relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance.…”

“…Hembree also found that the relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance changes with grade levels peaks during junior to high school years. Although many studies indicate that mathematics anxiety and achievement are negatively related (Hembree, 1990;Meece et al, 1990;Richland et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2021), the direction of this relationship is still unclear (Carey et al, 2016;Foley et al, 2017). The literature suggests that: (i) mathematics anxiety contributes to poor mathematics performance ( Richland et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2021), (ii) poor mathematics performance contributes to mathematics anxiety (Alkan, 2018).…”

“…The poor performance in Mathematics has been attributed to high levels of mathematics anxiety; failure to connect Mathematics with students' future careers; and others (Cargnelutti et al, 2017;Henschel & Roick, 2017;Richland et al, 2020;Szczygieł, 2021;Uwineza et al, 2018). There have been several studies that examined the relationship between students' performance and psychological factors, such as career motivation and mathematics anxiety (Cargnelutti et al, 2017;Henschel & Roick, 2017), but none has been conducted in Rwanda.…”

The effect of teaching conceptual knowledge on students’ achievement, anxiety about, and attitude toward mathematics

“…Students with high anxiety about and negative attitude toward mathematics had less confidence to carry out mathematics tasks. Accordingly, for students' better achievement in mathematics, students' level of anxiety and attitude toward mathematics should be considered and moderated by using an appropriate teaching method (Casty et al, 2021;Richland et al, 2020).…”

Mathematics Teachers’ Anxiety in Teaching and Learning Process: A Literature Review

“…It was found that the main causes of mathematics anxiety experienced by the teacher were not having a good knowledge of mathematics and low self-confidence. One of the factors that cause math anxiety in teachers is due to their low ability and knowledge related to mathematics (Dzulfikar, 2016;Ganley et al, 2019;Makur & Prahmana, 2015;Rawa & Yasa, 2018;Richland et al, 2020). The low understanding and knowledge of teachers related to mathematics will certainly make them experience difficulties when teaching.…”