Investigating the Prevalence of Mathematics Anxiety and its Relationship to Gender Among Grade 7 Students in Jamaica

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a quantitative, survey research study that investigated the prevalence of mathematics anxiety (MA) in two Grade 7 cohorts and how students’ MA compared by gender. The research sample consisted of 467 Grade 7 students (276 females and 186 males) from two high schools in Jamaica. The data were collected using the Modified Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (mAMAS) and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that students experienced a range of MA (Low, Slight, Moderate, and High). Most students experienced Slight MA and 7.5% of the students reported High MA. Another key finding was that the MA distributions for males and females were not statistically significant. Considering the relatively high percentage of students who reported high MA, additional research involving more schools relating to prevalence of MA is warranted.