FACTORS AFFECTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MATH ANXIETY: MATH LEVELS, PARENT EDUCATION LEVELS, NUMBER OF PARENTS AND PAST MATH SCORES
HOSIN SHIRVANI *
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg Texas, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study included 113 high school students from two algebra teachers. It examines variables that are associated with math anxiety. Variables included in the study are student math test scores, level of math courses, parent educational levels and number of parents. The study showed that parent’ educational level was not associated with participants’ math anxiety; however, students who were taking advanced math courses showed significantly lower math anxiety compared with those in regular math courses (ƿ=.002); the significant level was set at .05 (ƿ=.05) for the statistical analysis of the data. Moreover, the study found students’ scores in previous math courses were inversely related to math anxiety (ƿ=.000). Furthermore, the number of parents in the home was not related to math anxiety.
Keywords: Math anxiety, math courses, parents’ education, students