Mathematics Anxiety of Ninth Grade Students

Abstract

Human beings have been using mathematics since they got familiar with the environment they lived in. Because of this reason, the emphasis of necessity of mathematics education for schools with various levels in different countries has undoubtedly been agreed upon. Mathematics anxiety is a problem for many people. Mathematics anxiety is one of the subjects that have attracted interest of training psychologists and mathematics teachers. It can have detrimental effects for high school students including feelings of nervous tension, fear of rejection, and stress. Mathematics anxiety is intense emotional feelings of anxiety that people have about their ability to understand and perform mathematics. While mathematics anxiety may be perceived as an excuse for poor mathematics performance, it can be a valid, justifiable excuse as well. This study examined the mathematics anxiety levels and changes in mathematics anxiety levels with respect to gender, whether students had prior special tutoring, mathematics achievement level and parental education level of high school ninth grade students in İzmir. The sample included 250 ninth grade students. The data were collected using the “Mathematics anxiety scale” developed by Erol (1989). The scale aimed at measuring students’ anxiety towards mathematics. In addition, an individual information form was developed by the researcher to collect demographic data. The data obtained from this study were evaluated using SPSS version 11.0 statistical programme and t-test and ANOVA statistics were calculated. The results show that; mathematics achievement level and parental education level is statistically significant. Mathematics anxiety scores do not exhibit statistically significant difference according to gender and students prior special tutoring.