Mathematics Anxiety and its Relationship with Mathematics Achievement Among Secondary School Students

Abstract

: Mathematics attainment has taken on a global focus for the furtherance of economic advancement, thus, magnetizing for the appraisal of mathematical edification among school students. However, evidence suggests that mathematics anxiety is a salient contributing factor that obstructs success in mathematics. Drawing upon the evidence, this investigation explores the relationship between mathematics anxiety, performance and strategies that students perceived that could attenuate mathematics anxiety. Data from this study was collected using the mixed method approach of a survey and interview from forty-two Form One students with different levels of academic achievements from one school in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. All participants demonstrated a moderate level of mathematics anxiety. However, students from the low performance level displayed inverse and strong relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance. This indicates that mathematics performance declines with augmented mathematics anxiety. The linear regression revealed that all the three factors of emotion, assessment, and environment are not statistically significant predictors of mathematics achievement. Regardless, emotion has been discerned as a significant predictor of mathematics anxiety for high performance group of students. The interview revealed that students perceive games, cooperative groups, teaching aids, demonstration, rewards, and teachers with positive classroom attitude have contributed to overcoming mathematics anxiety. Results from this study suggest a strong relationship between anxiety and mathematics performance among low performing students which further indicated the importance for mathematics teachers to vary their teaching and learning activities in assisting students to cope with mathematics anxiety.