Education Sciences

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18 pages, 1363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relations between Math Achievement, Math Anxiety, and the Quality of Parent–Child Interactions While Solving Math Problems

by Michela DiStefano, Fraulein Retanal, Jean-François Bureau, Thomas E. Hunt, Anne Lafay, Helena P. Osana, Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, Philip Trepiak, Chang Xu, Jo-Anne LeFevre and Erin A. Maloney

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(3), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13030307 - 15 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4861

Abstract

In the current study, we used a multi-method approach to understand the quality of math homework-helping interactions between parents and their children and how parents’ and children’s own math achievement and math anxiety relate to the quality of the interaction. Forty Canadian parents [...] Read more.

In the current study, we used a multi-method approach to understand the quality of math homework-helping interactions between parents and their children and how parents’ and children’s own math achievement and math anxiety relate to the quality of the interaction. Forty Canadian parents and their children (ages 10–12 years; grades 5 to 7) completed self-report measures of math and general anxiety. Parents and children completed standardized assessments of math achievement and were then recorded as they engaged in a simulated math homework interaction. Coders assessed parent–child interaction quality during the interaction. Parent–child dyads generally performed well on the simulated math homework task. Nevertheless, task performance was correlated with the quality of the interaction, with high-quality interactions associated with high accuracy on the math task. Furthermore, the variability in the quality of the interaction was associated with parents’ and children’s math achievement and with the math anxiety of the children, but not the parents. Identifying the elements that influence parent–child interactions in math-related situations is essential to developing effective interventions to scaffold children’s math learning and attitudes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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13 pages, 298 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Is Parental Mathematics Anxiety Associated with Young Children’s Arithmetical Performance?

by Elien Bellon, Elsje van Bergen and Ann Derore Dowker

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110812 - 14 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2842

Abstract

It has been suggested that parental mathematics anxiety may influence their children’s mathematics anxiety, attitudes, and performance. It remains an open question whether these parent-child associations differ by parental sex or parental involvement. We tested 249 Dutch-speaking Belgian participants, forming 83 (biological) mother–father–child [...] Read more.

It has been suggested that parental mathematics anxiety may influence their children’s mathematics anxiety, attitudes, and performance. It remains an open question whether these parent-child associations differ by parental sex or parental involvement. We tested 249 Dutch-speaking Belgian participants, forming 83 (biological) mother–father–child trios. The 83 children (age: M = 5.74; SD = 0.30) attended Kindergarten. We tested their nonsymbolic comparison, symbolic numerical magnitude processing, numeral recognition, arithmetic, and matrix reasoning. We assessed both parents’ arithmetic skills, math anxiety, educational level, and division of care. More math-anxious parents tended to be less highly educated (r~0.42) and poorer at math (r~0.30). Compared to fathers, mothers had lower arithmetic, higher math anxiety, and higher educational level. Assortative mating (i.e., a significant spousal correlation) was found for educational level and arithmetic. Mothers’ (but not fathers’) educational level predicted children’s arithmetic scores (r = 0.31). Other parent-offspring correlations were non-significant. Most of the children’s test scores are intercorrelated. The parental characteristic that best predicted five- and six-year-olds’ arithmetic performance was maternal educational level rather than mathematical anxiety or performance. We discuss these findings in relation to the used measures, parental gender and involvement, children’s age, statistical power, and genetic and environmental transmission. The field is just starting to understand whether and how mathematics anxiety and the skills of parents influence those of their offspring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

9 pages, 444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating Effects of Specific Types of Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Math Anxiety and Performance

by Molly M. Jameson, Celeste Dierenfeld and Julia Ybarra

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110789 - 5 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3672

Abstract

The negative relationship between math anxiety and math performance is well-supported in the literature. The important role of students’ math self-efficacy (i.e., their confidence in their ability to successfully complete specific math tasks) in this relationship is also established. Self-efficacy is extremely specific, [...] Read more.

The negative relationship between math anxiety and math performance is well-supported in the literature. The important role of students’ math self-efficacy (i.e., their confidence in their ability to successfully complete specific math tasks) in this relationship is also established. Self-efficacy is extremely specific, however, and it is possible that additional types of self-efficacy can play a role in the relationship between anxiety and performance. This study surveyed 118 undergraduate students on their math anxiety, math performance, math self-efficacy, emotional self-efficacy, and emotional self-efficacy specifically in math to determine the mediating effects of these specific types of self-efficacy. Hierarchical linear regression shows that math self-efficacy continues to fully mediate the relationship between anxiety and performance; in the current study, emotional self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship while emotional self-efficacy specifically in math did not. The role of emotional self-efficacy should be further explored, as these findings are contrary to previous work. Educational interventions should continue to emphasize building students’ math confidence to improve the math performance of math-anxious students. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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12 pages, 1019 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Student-Guided Math Practice in Elementary School: Relation among Math Anxiety, Emotional Self-Efficacy, and Children’s Choices When Practicing Math

by Aditi Tarkar, Brandie Matalka, Macey Cartwright and Heidi Kloos

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 611; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12090611 - 9 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3106

Abstract

In the current study, we explored math anxiety in the context of a special kind of math practice, one that allowed for some flexibility on the part of the students. Such student-guided math practice is conducive to exploring how math anxiety relates to [...] Read more.

In the current study, we explored math anxiety in the context of a special kind of math practice, one that allowed for some flexibility on the part of the students. Such student-guided math practice is conducive to exploring how math anxiety relates to children’s day-to-day experiences with math, potentially yielding insights into math anxiety that would not be available otherwise. Students in Grades 3 and 4 (N = 26) could choose math problems that were below, at, or above their proficiency level. They also completed a math-anxiety survey and an emotional self-efficacy survey. Descriptive results revealed that math anxiety was implicated in two negative outcomes of math practice: children’s tendency to avoid challenging math problems and children’s relatively low success rate when working on class-level math. Finding that math anxiety relates to several negative experiences could explain why math anxiety can persist. Importantly, results show that emotional self-efficacy plays a role in both children’s willingness to challenge themselves and their success rate. This adds to the ongoing discussion on whether emotional self-efficacy can compensate for the negative effects of math anxiety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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15 pages, 439 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thriving, Persisting, or Agonizing: Integrated Math Anxiety Experiences of University Students in Introductory Geoscience Classes

by Julie Sexton, Dina London, Molly M. Jameson and Jennifer M. Wenner

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12090577 - 24 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1943

Abstract

Many factors may contribute to women being underrepresented and marginalized in college-level geoscience majors. Limited research has examined students’ math anxiety as a possible factor. To address the dearth of research, we conducted a qualitative study to explore the math anxiety experiences held [...] Read more.

Many factors may contribute to women being underrepresented and marginalized in college-level geoscience majors. Limited research has examined students’ math anxiety as a possible factor. To address the dearth of research, we conducted a qualitative study to explore the math anxiety experiences held by students in college-level geoscience classes. Through analysis of students’ written math narratives, we identified three themes capturing students’ integrated math anxiety experiences (IMAEs), which integrated students’ feelings, physiological reactions, and thoughts. Students with Thriving IMAEs liked math and had positive assessments of themselves in math. Students with Agonizing IMAEs had negative feelings and thoughts about math and experienced negative physiological reactions. Students with Persisting IMAEs had positive and negative feelings and thoughts, but thought that, ultimately, they could persist in math. A higher percentage of women than men held Agonizing IMAEs, and a lower percentage of women than men held Thriving IMAEs. Students in introductory geoscience classes had a range of IMAEs, which may have an important role in their success in class and in their decisions to take additional geoscience classes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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15 pages, 862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Personas Characterising Secondary School Mathematics Students: Development and Applications to Educational Technology

by Robert Weinhandl, Martin Mayerhofer, Tony Houghton, Zsolt Lavicza, Michael Eichmair and Markus Hohenwarter

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(7), 447; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12070447 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2470

Abstract

Information technology plays an increasingly prominent role in our personal and professional lives. It also plays an important role in schools, and especially in mathematics education. To realise their full potential in education, technologies should be designed in a way that addresses the [...] Read more.

Information technology plays an increasingly prominent role in our personal and professional lives. It also plays an important role in schools, and especially in mathematics education. To realise their full potential in education, technologies should be designed in a way that addresses the characteristics of the target students. In the context of learning mathematics, students often experience anxiety with regard to the content that needs to be learnt; therefore, this work considers mathematics anxiety as a characteristic that should be particularly relevant when designing technologies that assist with teaching and learning mathematics. The development of personas, i.e., prototypical and simplified user descriptions, is a widely used tool in user experience (UX) research that supports design processes. In this methodological paper, we combine this UX methodology with a grounded theory approach. This combination of methodologies could facilitate the establishment of guidelines for developing personas representing secondary school mathematics students, which constitutes the goal of this paper. We review existing persona development techniques in other fields and adapt them to the context of secondary mathematics education using qualitative secondary data. Our aim is to provide a research approach that produces a better understanding of students’ characteristics, needs, and fears. Despite limitations in terms of the amount of data included in developing and piloting this methodology, this work forms the basis for increasing the usability of educational technologies and for adapting them to individual learning styles to reduce mathematics anxiety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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12 pages, 861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mathematics Anxiety and Self-Efficacy of Mexican Engineering Students: Is There Gender Gap?

by Gustavo Morán-Soto and Omar Israel González-Peña

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(6), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12060391 - 7 Jun 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5003

Abstract

Studies have reported that there is a gender disparity wherein women do not study equally to men in bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas, although they lead the race of having a better terminal efficiency rate in higher education. [...] Read more.

Studies have reported that there is a gender disparity wherein women do not study equally to men in bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas, although they lead the race of having a better terminal efficiency rate in higher education. This research explores engineering students’ math anxiety and math self-efficacy levels, aiming to determine if there is a gender gap for this specific population. Data were collected from 498 students using adapted items from existing surveys. These items were translated to Spanish, and validity tests were used to establish content validity and reliability. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine possible differences between male and female math anxiety and math self-efficacy levels. Male engineering students reported higher self-efficacy and lower math anxiety levels, and this difference was shown to be significant according to the MANOVA results. Findings of this research could help engineering educators to better understand how their students feel when they are practicing and performing math-related activities and what type of strategies could be designed when aiming to ameliorate female students’ math anxiety feelings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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14 pages, 416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A General Math Anxiety Measure

by Stephanie Kelly, Stephen M. Croucher, Kyung Yong Kim, Tatiana Permyakova, Elira Turdubaeva, Kenneth T. Rocker, Nadirabegim Eskiçorapçı, Gulzada Stanalieva, Bakyt Orunbekov and Sucharat Rimkeeratikul

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(6), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12060370 - 25 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6412

Abstract

Math anxiety is a psychological burden that can hinder individuals across their lifetimes. However, the current literature lacks a valid measure of math anxiety that can be used across instructional modalities and among non-student populations. As such, it is difficult to assess math [...] Read more.

Math anxiety is a psychological burden that can hinder individuals across their lifetimes. However, the current literature lacks a valid measure of math anxiety that can be used across instructional modalities and among non-student populations. As such, it is difficult to assess math anxiety in virtual learning environments, track math anxiety across lifetimes, or determine the utility of math anxiety inoculations for non-student populations. This study presents a validity portfolio for a generalized math anxiety measure that can be used across teaching modalities, across lifetimes, and is simple enough to be used cross-culturally. The measure yielded evidence of validity when used in all tested samples: the United States (student and non-student samples), New Zealand (student and non-student samples), Kyrgyzstan (non-student sample), Turkey (non-student sample), Russia (non-student sample), and Thailand (non-student sample). The data support the use of the new math anxiety measure free of context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Math Anxiety, Student Learning, and Instructional Strategies)

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