Unraveling the role of math anxiety in students' math performance

The relationship between trait- and state-math anxiety and math engagement: The role of math learning context and task difficulty

BACKGROUND

Various findings regarding the relationship between math anxiety and engagement have been identified in the literature, with many focusing on general math anxiety and overall math engagement.

OBJECTIVES

Based on the control-value theory, this study examined the relationships between trait- and state-math anxiety and behavioural and cognitive engagement in math under daily practice and exam preparation conditions across math tasks of varying difficulty levels.

METHODS

A survey study with 449 high school students and an experimental study with 33 freshmen were conducted. Students' trait- and state-math anxiety, as well as behavioural and cognitive engagement in math, were measured under daily practice and exam preparation conditions across easy and difficult math tasks.

RESULTS

A two-level latent variable model was built in the survey study, and two-way ANOVAs and regressions were used in the experimental study. Students exhibited greater state anxiety under exam preparation conditions in the survey study and showed differences in state-math anxiety and engagement across learning contexts and math tasks in the experimental study. Students with higher trait-math anxiety displayed less engagement in both studies, while those with higher state-math anxiety when facing difficult tasks tended to engage more cognitively in the experiment.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated discrepancies in the relationships between trait- and state-math anxiety and math engagement, while accounting for learning context and task difficulty.

Factors predicting the mathematics anxiety of adolescents: a structural equation modeling approach

Introduction

Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a distinct negative emotional state or trait that individuals experience when confronted with mathematical problems in everyday life and academic contexts. This study aims to identify the key predictors of MA among secondary-level students in Bangladesh.

Methods

Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional research design, data were collected from 486 students across 89 institutions. Later, the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

Results

The findings revealed that math related negative past experiences (β = 0.241, t = 4.914, p < 0.001) and a perceived lack of teacher support (β = 0.234, t = 5.440, p < 0.001) significantly contribute to students' low self-efficacy in mathematics. This low self-efficacy is further influenced by negative attitudes and test anxiety, ultimately leading to increased MA (β = 0.694, t = 22.695, p < 0.001). Additionally, cognitive challenges, particularly working memory difficulties, directly affect MA (β = 0.110, t = 2.659, p = 0.008). The study also found that negative attitudes (β = 0.347, t = 9.063, p < 0.001) and test anxiety (β = 0.251, t = 5.913, p < 0.001) independently exacerbate MA. Moreover, a lack of motivation in learning mathematics is directly influenced by this elevated level of MA (β = 0.384, t = 9.939, p < 0.001).

Discussion

Taken together, the study proposes several key recommendations and policy implications to inform the development of synchronized policies by educational authorities aimed at combatting, reducing MA among secondary-level students in Bangladesh and similar contexts.

Not realizing that you don't know: Fraction state anxiety is reduced by natural number bias

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that mathematics anxiety negatively correlates with primary school mathematics performance, including fraction knowledge. However, recently no significant correlation was found between fraction arithmetic performance and state anxiety measured after the fraction task. One possible explanation is the natural number bias (NNB), a tendency to apply natural number reasoning in fraction tasks, even when this is inappropriate. Students with the NNB may not realize they are answering incorrectly.

AIMS

The aim is to examine whether a misconception, namely the NNB, can influence students' fraction state anxiety.

SAMPLE

The participants were 119 fifth- and sixth-grade students categorized as belonging to an NNB group (n = 60) or a No-NNB group (n = 59), according to their NNB-related answering profile on a fraction arithmetic task.

METHODS

Group differences were examined for state anxiety and performance on a fraction and a whole number arithmetic task and self-reported trait mathematics anxiety.

RESULTS

The NNB group reported lower fraction state anxiety than the No-NNB group, but there was no significant difference in trait mathematics anxiety. Furthermore, the NNB group reported lower fraction state anxiety than whole number state anxiety, while the opposite was true for the No-NNB group.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that students' perceptions of their own performance influence their state anxiety responses, and students with a NNB may not be aware of their misconception and poor performance. Not taking into account qualitative differences in low performance, such as misconceptions, may lead to misinterpretations in state anxiety-performance relations.