How accurate are teacher and parent judgements of lower secondary school children’s test anxiety?

This study examined teacher and mother judgement accuracy of children’s worries and emotionality in the school subjects of German and mathematics. The participants were 59 German language and 58 mathematics teachers, 572 mothers and their children at the end of Grade 6. The analyses for the total sample revealed weak-to-moderate correlations between adult’s and children’s perception of test anxiety. Moreover, we found that teachers overestimated children’s emotionality as well as children’s worry, whereas mothers underestimated children’s worry and overestimated children’s emotionality in both subjects. However, when looking at the highly test-anxious children, we found quite low correlations and an underestimation of children’s worry and emotionality in both school subjects. Thus, it seems important to provide teachers and parents with information about test anxiety and possibly training to improve their judgement accuracy because of moderating effects of test anxiety on achievement.     

Mental-Physical Relationships during the preschool period

Little is known about the development of mathematics anxiety in elementary school students. To address this gap in knowledge, the authors evaluated students in Grades 3 and 6 on measures of mathematics anxiety, school test anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics to determine (a) whether different forms of mathematics anxiety exist, (b) whether mathematics test anxiety differs from school test anxiety, and (c) whether mathematics anxiety is related to different attitudes toward mathematics. Evidence was found for two distinct forms of mathematics anxiety: test and problem-solving anxiety. Mathematics test anxiety increased with age relative to mathematics problem-solving anxiety; this result demonstrated that children become more anxious about mathematics testing situations as they progress through school. Mathematics test anxiety was related, but not identical, to school test anxiety, and students in both grades were less anxious about math tests than about academic testing generally. Finally, older students tended to show more positive attitudes toward mathematics than did younger students, and relations between these attitudes and the two forms of mathematics anxiety also changed between Grades 3 and 6.     

Effects of homework motivation and worry anxiety on homework achievement in mathematics and English

Direct and mediating effects of homework worry anxiety on homework effort and homework achievement and the differences in the structural relations among homework motivation constructs and homework achievement across mathematics and English homework were examined in 268 tenth graders in China. Homework motivation included task value, homework self-efficacy, homework worry anxiety, and motivation application. Homework accomplishments were rated by mathematics and English teachers. Homework value had positive effects on homework effort and worry anxiety in both subjects. Homework self-efficacy had positive and negative effects on homework effort and worry, respectively. Homework worry mediated the relation of homework value to effort and to achievement; the relation was more prominent in mathematics than in English homework. The mediating effects of worry anxiety in the relation of self-efficacy to homework effort and to achievement were significant only in mathematics. The domain specificity and direct and mediating effects were discussed in the cultural and educational context.     

Mathematics anxiety of some pre-service primary school teachers

The construct ‘mathematics anxiety’ is explored with a sample of first year primary education university students. Self reported measures of anxiety about needing to use mathematics, and anxiety about the prospect of teaching mathematics, are moderately and positively correlated. The factor structure of a set of 13 items related to ‘mathematics anxiety’ is consistent with previous studies and the associations of these factors to other, related measures are explored using multiple linear regression of the factor scores. It is argued that it is likely to be more valuable to investigate ‘mathematics anxiety’ in terms of its composite factors than as a single phenomenon. Directions for future investigations are indicated.     

Additive and multiplicative effects of working memory and test anxiety on mathematics performance in grade 3 students

The aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between test anxiety and working memory (WM) on mathematics performance in younger children. A sample of 624 grade 3 students completed a test battery consisting of a test anxiety scale, WM tasks and the Swedish national examination in mathematics for grade 3. The main effects of test anxiety and WM, and the two-way interaction between test anxiety and WM on mathematics performance, were modelled with structural equation modelling techniques. Additionally, the effects were also tested separately on tasks with high WM demands (mathematical problem-solving) versus low WM demands (basic arithmetic). As expected, WM positively predicted mathematics performance in all three models (overall mathematics performance, problem-solving tasks, and basic arithmetic). Test anxiety had a negative effect on problem-solving on the whole sample level but concerning basic arithmetic only students with lower WM were affected by the negative effects of test anxiety on performance. Thus, students with low WM are more vulnerable to the negative effects of test anxiety in low WM tasks like basic arithmetic. The results are discussed in relation to the early identification of test anxiety.     

Mathematics anxiety in young children: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with mathematical performance

This study explored mathematics anxiety in a longitudinal sample of 113 children followed from second to third grade. We examined how mathematics anxiety related to different types of mathematical performance concurrently and longitudinally and whether the relations between mathematics anxiety and mathematical performance differed as a function of working memory. Concurrent analyses indicated that mathematics anxiety represents a unique source of individual differences in children’s calculation skills and mathematical applications, but not in children’s geometric reasoning. Furthermore, we found that higher levels of mathematics anxiety in second grade predicted lower gains in children’s mathematical applications between second and third grade, but only for children with higher levels of working memory. Overall, our results indicate that mathematics anxiety is an important construct to consider when examining sources of individual differences in young children’s mathematical performance. Furthermore, our findings suggest that mathematics anxiety may affect how some children use working memory resources to learn mathematical applications.     

Identifying children with persistent low math achievement: The role of number-magnitude mapping and symbolic numerical processing

Although an increasing number of research studies have investigated the cognitive deficits related to difficulties in learning mathematics, little is known about whether these cognitive deficits longitudinally predict low mathematics achievement over time. The current 6-year longitudinal study was conducted to address this issue. A sample of 101 students was tested on various numerical and cognitive competencies when they were in kindergarten and in Grade 1. They were then followed until they were in Grade 6, and their mathematics achievement was assessed bi-annually. A group of persistent low mathematics achievers (PLA) who scored consistently below the 25th percentile was identified. This group of PLA showed difficulties in most of the numerical tasks as early as kindergarten. More importantly, three of the early predictors correctly identified 79% of the PLAs. The current findings provide valuable information concerning the core cognitive deficits underlying difficulties in learning mathematics as well as an important tool for educators for identifying children who are at risk of persistent math learning difficulties in the elementary school years.     

瑞典小学全国统考引起的学生考试焦虑研究

近年来瑞典教育在国际排名中呈现下降趋势。为此,瑞典已推出多项旨在提高教育质量的改革措施,最新的改革是在小学教育中实施全国统一考试。标准化考试的一个可能的不利因素是带给学生考试焦虑,而考试焦虑可能影响考试成绩。本研究选择了三年级的40名学生样本,运用现代化的标准测试来测量学生在数学和瑞典语两门学科的考试焦虑。结果表明,考试焦虑与瑞典语的成绩不佳有关;数学笔算成绩与考试焦虑有着显著的相关关系。     

Relationships between learning environment and mathematics anxiety

We investigated relationships between the learning environment and students’ mathematics anxiety, as well as differences between the sexes in perceptions of learning environment and anxiety. A sample of 745 high-school students in 34 different mathematics classrooms in four high schools in Southern California was used to cross-validate the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) learning environment instrument, together with an updated Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating scale. Mathematics anxiety was found to have two factorially-distinct dimensions (namely, learning mathematics anxiety and mathematics evaluation anxiety) which yielded different patterns of results for sex differences and anxiety–environment associations. Relative to males, females perceived a more positive classroom environment and more anxiety about mathematics evaluation, but less anxiety about mathematics learning. Some statistically significant associations were found between anxiety and learning environment scales for learning mathematics anxiety but not for mathematics evaluation anxiety.     

Effect of parents’ mathematics anxiety and home numeracy activities on young children’s math performance-anxiety relationship

A negative correlation between mathematics performance and mathematics anxiety (MA) has been identified in students of varying ages. However, little is known as to whether this correlation diminishes when environmental factors are incorporated as moderator variables.Specifically, the effect of home numeracy activities (HNA) and parental MA on students’ performance-MA relationship has received little attention. Furthermore, there have been no studies that consider HNA frequency as reported by the children themselves. A sample of 311 Chilean second graders and their parents participated in the present study. We examined whether HNA frequency moderates the performance-MA relationship and whether this moderation is in turn moderated by parent MA. Results showed that the frequency of HNA strengthened or diminished the negative correlation between performance and MA as a function of parent MA. In the case of parents with low MA, regardless of HNA frequency, child mathematics performance was negatively associated with child MA. However, in the case of math-anxious parents that interacted frequently with their children, there was no association between child MA and math achievement. More broadly, the present study suggests that mathematics-related family dynamics and parents’ emotions are key to understanding the relationship between performance and MA in early development.     

Calling for the development of children's number sense in primary schools in Malaysia

Although the early development of children's number sense is a strong predictor of their later mathematics achievements, it has been overlooked in primary schools in Malaysia. Mainly attributable to underdeveloped number sense of Malaysian primary and secondary school children, their inability to handle simple mathematics tasks, which require the understanding of basic mathematical concepts, numerical estimation, and mental computation, is a cause for worry. To enhance the perception of curriculum designers and mathematics teachers about why and how number sense ought to be developed, this article serves as a review of essential components, theoretical framework, and test of number sense.     

中学生数学焦虑的调查与分析

数学焦虑作为一种消极的数学学习体验已成为数学教育中的一个热点问题.对数学焦虑与数学成绩、数学兴趣、自我效能、性别差异和年级差异的关系进行调查,结果发现:数学成绩与数学焦虑显著相关;数学兴趣、自我效能均与数学焦虑呈显著负相关;男、女生在数学焦虑上存在显著差异,女生焦虑水平比男生高;中学各个年级的数学焦虑水平没有显著差异,初三学生的焦虑水平在中学阶段是最高的.     

Characterizing the Mathematics Anxiety Literature Using Confidence Intervals as a Literature Review Mechanism

ABSTRACT

The authors report the contextualization of effect sizes within mathematics anxiety research, and more specifically within research using the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) and the MARS for Adolescents (MARS-A). The effect sizes from 45 studies were characterized by graphing confidence intervals (CIs) across studies involving (a) adults not participating in studies focusing on remedial or entry-level mathematics students or teachers, (b) remedial mathematics and entry-level college mathematics students, (c) preservice and inservice teachers, and (d) 7–12th-grade students and rising college students. The results also illustrate how CIs can be useful in research syntheses, because CIs (a) encourage meta-analytic thinking, (b) provide information about the research precision of a literature, and (c) provide plausible estimates for parameter values even if initial research expectations are wildly wrong.     

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with ADHD and depression and its relations to emotions

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression and its relations to reporting experiencing emotions during teaching practice were studied. The participants were 186 teacher education students in Estonia. Student teachers’ general knowledge and confidence in knowledge varied a lot. Knowledge about children with ADHD was generally limited. Knowledge and confidence in knowledge were negatively related to reporting negative emotions (anxiety, anger, shame) experienced during teaching practice. Findings are discussed, taking into account recent changes in scientific knowledge about ADHD and depression and democratic changes in schools. As knowledge of special educational needs has become important due to applying inclusive education, the findings also refer to the need for modifications in teacher education curricula.     

Locus of control and reading attitude

The relationships between three measures of locus of control and eight dimensions of reading attitude were investigated for a sample of 431 inner-city children. The sample included the intermediate grade children enrolled in the 20 regular classrooms of the three elementary schools from the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools. Correlation coefficients were computed between locus of control scores and the eight dimensions of reading attitude. Reading Anxiety showed a significant relationship with the I- score. This finding suggests that inner-city children who are willing to accept personal responsibility for negative events in their lives also tend to experience more anxiety about their reading. The other seven dimensions of reading attitude were not significantly related to internality scores.     

Academic and Cognitive Characteristics of Persistent Mathematics Difficulty from First Through Fourth Grade

This longitudinal study investigated the academic and cognitive characteristics of persistent mathematics difficulty (MD-p) from first to fourth grade. Ninety-nine children were retrospectively categorized into one of three groups: MD-p, transient mathematics difficulty (MD-t), or typically developing. MD-p was defined as persistently low mathematics achievement (≤25th percentile) in at least 2 years from first to fourth grade. The results indicated that the MD-p group was more likely than other groups to have deficits in calculation, practical problem solving, number facts, and reading. In terms of cognitive characteristics, MD-p was specifically characterized by deficits in math concepts and phonological decoding, though there was some evidence for the involvement of working memory, processing speed, and numerical reasoning.     

Aspects of Children's Mathematics Anxiety

This study focuses on mathematics anxiety in nine- to eleven-year-old children and compares the mathematics anxiety of pupils taught in a traditional manner with that of pupils whose teachers adopted an alternative teaching approach emphasising problem-solving and discussion of pupils' own informal strategies. One finding is that pupils who were exposed to a traditional approach reported more mathematics anxiety than those who were exposed to the alternative approach, particularly with regard to the social, public aspects of doing mathematics. The question is raised whether it is these public aspects of doing mathematics in the presence of teachers and peers which actually evoke mathematics anxiety in many pupils, and not working with numbers or doing sums. However, the majority of pupils in this study reacted with either high or low anxiety to both aspects of doing mathematics.     

An Experiment on Homogeneous Grouping for Reading in Elementary Classes

Abstract

Can a non-norraative measure of adjustment account for performance in mathematics independently of anxiety or intelligence? The mathematics performance of 621 grade 7 children was analyzed in relation to a measure of adjustment derived from semantic differential responses to “myself” and “the person I would like to be.” Covariance analyses for trait-anxiety, test-anxiety, and intelligence were carried out. It was found that the measure of adjustment was significantly related to mathematics performance after the effects of anxiety and intelligence were partialled out.     

Social and dimensional comparisons in math and verbal test anxiety: Within- and cross-domain relations with achievement and the mediating role of academic self-concept

The present study builds on two strands of research: (1) the recently established generalized internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model assuming social (comparing one’s achievement in one domain with the achievement of one’s peers in the same domain) and dimensional (comparing one’s achievement in one domain with one’s achievement in another domain) comparison processes in the formation of motivational constructs and self-perceptions, and (2) research on domain-specific facets of test anxiety. Using a sample of 5135 German seventh grade students, it is tested whether and how both comparison processes are involved in the formation of domain-specific facets of test anxiety when considering both the emotionality and worry components of test anxiety, and whether the relation between achievement and test anxiety is mediated through academic self-concept. When applying the GI/E model to test anxiety, the results showed negative relations between achievement and test anxiety within math and verbal (German) domains, but partially positive relations across domains. This pattern of relations emerged for both the worry and emotionality components while stronger achievement relations were found for worry. These findings indicate that dimensional achievement comparison processes operate in the formation of domain-specific test anxiety. Domain-specific academic self-concepts were found to mediate the relations between achievement and test anxiety within and across domains, the mediation being stronger for worry than for emotionality as an outcome. Boys and girls did not differ regarding direct and indirect relations among constructs. Implications for research on dimensional comparison processes and test anxiety are discussed.     

Maternal Separation Anxiety: Its Developmental Course and Relation to Maternal Mental Health

Maternal separation anxiety is a construct that describes a mother's experience of worry, sadness, or guilt during short-term separations from her child. This investigation examined potential differences in psychological correlates between mothers with high and low levels of anxiety when their children were 8 months, 3 1/2 years, and 6 years of age. High levels of maternal separation anxiety had different psychological correlates contingent upon the age of the child. Depressive symptomatology and separation anxiety were unrelated at times 1 and 2, but when the children were 6 years old, mothers who had the highest levels of anxiety tended to have more depressive symptomatology, fewer coping skills, a more negative representation of self, and embraced more traditional sex-role values. Study findings are discussed with respect to their relevance to the mother's role as developmental partner to the child and linked to major theoretical perspectives that address the mother-child relationship.