The Relationship Between Teachers' Anxiety, Confidence, and Attitudes with Mathematics Achievement of Primary School Pupils

Abstract

This study aims to identify the relationship between teachers’ anxiety, confidence, and attitudes with mathematics achievement of primary school pupils. Survey method design was used in this study and data were collected using Likert 5 scale questionnaires. A total of 30 teachers and 30 year 5 students were selected as the sample. The results showed that the level of mathematical anxiety of teachers is at a low level, the level of teachers’ confidence is at a high level, and the level of teachers’ attitude is at an excellent level. Correlation analysis showed there is a significant negative relationship between teachers’ anxiety and students’ achievement (r= -0.636, p <0.05). There is a significant positive relationship between teachers’ confidence and students’ achievement (r=0.600, p <0.05). There is a significant relationship between teachers’ attitude and students’ achievement (r = 0.795, p <0.05). In conclusion, good mathematics achievement of primary pupils is related to excellent teachers’ attitude, high confidence level, and low level of anxiety. The implications of this study can help primary school mathematics teachers to reduce anxiety levels, increase confidence, and improve their attitudes in mathematics teaching so that student achievement in mathematics can be improved.