Anxiety's Impact on Mathematics Ability in Tanzanian Secondary School Students: A Singida District Case Study
Downloads
Professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are in greater demand globally. Numerous governmental and commercial organizations have redesigned education and encouraged training to improve workers' and students' math and science proficiency in order to successfully meet this need. Programs for education and training usually aim to increase participants' understanding of math and science.
Tanzania's consistently low math success has alarmed many, including the government, which has led them to investigate potential reasons for the poor performance. It is thought that students' experiences with mathematics anxiety have an impact on their mathematical achievement. This study looked into how secondary school students in Singida district's area performed academically in relation to math anxiety. The study's sample consisted of 1150 students who were selected from twelve secondary schools in the Singida area.
To gather data, standardized questionnaires with closed-ended questions were distributed to participants. The study made use of the respondents' terminal exam results in mathematics. To examine the gathered data, both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Overall, the findings demonstrated a statistically significant ( 0.025-two tailed) impact of mathematics anxiety on students' academic performance in mathematics. A correlation coefficient, r=0.425 suggests a substantial, positive association or relationship between the impact of math anxiety and math performance. When all other factors are maintained constant, a regression analysis using the equation
Downloads
Reference
Aguilera, R. a. (2021). Wildfire smoke impacts respiratory health more than fine particles from other sources: observational evidence from Southern California. Nature communications, 1493.
Al Mutawah, M. A. (2015). The Influence of Mathematics Anxiety in Middle and High School Students Math Achievement. International Education Studies, 239--252.
Anderson, D. R. (2000). Null hypothesis testing: problems, prevalence, and an alternative. The journal of wildlife management, 912--923.
Asuero, A. G. (2006). The correlation coefficient: An overview. Critical reviews in analytical chemistry, 41--59.
Bentil, J. (2020). Examination anxiety as a correlate of junior high school pupils' academic performance in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10-23.
Casta{~n}o, A. M.-I. (2020). Gendered beliefs in stem undergraduates: A comparative analysis of fuzzy rating versus likert scales. Sustainability, 6227.
Chi, Nguyen Phuong. (2021). Teaching Mathematics through Interdisciplinary Projects: A Case Study of Vietnam. International Journal of Education and Practice, 656--669.
Cohen, J. a. (2013). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Routledge.
Dodd, A. W. (1999). Mathematics abused students: Are we prepared to teach them?
Elkins, F. E. (2004). Impact of educator attitudes on inclusionary programs in secondary education. California State University, Fullerton.
Ganti, A. (2020). Correlation coefficient. Corp. Financ. Account, {145--152.
Goldin, Gerald A and Epstein, Yakov M and Schorr, Roberta Y and Warner, Lisa B. (2011). Beliefs and engagement structures: Behind the affective dimension of mathematical learning. ZDM, 547--560.
Haydon, T. a. (2012). A comparison of iPads and worksheets on math skills of high school students with emotional disturbance. Behavioral Disorders, 232--243.
Hershner, S. (2020). Sleep and academic performance: Measuring the impact of sleep. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences,, 51-56.
Jameson, M. M. (2014). Math anxiety, math self-concept, and math self-efficacy in adult learners compared to traditional undergraduate students. Adult Education Quarterly, 306--322.
Johnson, J. V. (2006). Long working hours, occupational health and the changing nature of work organization. American journal of industrial medicine, 921--929.
Kileo, E. (2015). Students’ Performance in Mathematics in form Four Examinations at selected secondary schools in Kinondoni District, Tanzania. The Open University Of Tanzania.
Kitta, S. (2004). Enhancing mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and skills in Tanzania. Print Partners-Ipskamp: Enschede.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
LANGAT, A. C. (2015). STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS: A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA.
Lubawa, D. (2021). The Influence of GCS on Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance in Tanzania: A case of Tanga City. The Open University of Tanzania.
Magnate, F. R. (2022). Relationship between Mathematics Performance and Anxiety.
Mann, L. C. (2019). Mathematics anxiety in secondary school female students: Issues, influences and implications. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 101--120.
McMillan, J. H. (2000). Teacher Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices Decision Making. ERIC.
Morris, L. W. (1981). Cognitive and emotional components of anxiety: Literature review and a revised worry--emotionality scale. Journal of Educational psychology, 541.
Mutegi, C. M. (2021). Mathematics Anxiety, Attitude and Performance among Secondary School Students in Kenya. Educational Research and Reviews, 226--235.
Nadide and Kandemir, M. A. (2020). The effects of mathematics anxiety and motivation on students' mathematics achievement. Necmettin Erbakan Univ.
Nadide and Kandemir, M. A. (2020). The effects of mathematics anxiety and motivation on students' mathematics achievement. Necmettin Erbakan Univ.
Nadide and Kandemir, M. A. (2020). The effects of mathematics anxiety and motivation on students' mathematics achievement. Necmettin Erbakan Univ.
Putri, A. R. (2020). A STUDY OF STUDENTS’ANXIETY IN SPEAKING. Journal of Education, Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching, 35--47.
Richardson, F. C. (1972). The mathematics anxiety rating scale: psychometric data. Journal of Counseling Psychology. psychometric data. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 551–554.
Richardson, Frank C and Suinn, Richard M. (1972). The mathematics anxiety rating scale: psychometric data. Journal of counseling Psychology, 551.
S{"u}ren, N. a. (2020). The effects of mathematics anxiety and motivation on students' mathematics achievement. Necmettin Erbakan Univ.
Salahot, E. D. (2022). The Effects of Mathematics Anxiety on Mathematics Performance among Secondary School Students in Tanzania: A Case of Arusha City Council. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM).
Shi, R. a. (2009). Correlation and regression analysis. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, S35--S41.
Sister Mary Fides Gough, O. (1954). Why failures in mathematics? Mathemaphobia: Causes and treatments. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 290--294.
Spade, J. Z. (1997). Tracking in mathematics and science: Courses and course-selection procedures. Sociology of Education, 108--127.
Spiliotopoulou, G. (2009). Reliability reconsidered: Cronbach's alpha and paediatric assessment in occupational therapy. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 150--155.
Sygaco, K. P. (2020). The correlation of sleep and academic performance. Asian J. Interdicip. Res,, 47.
Tanzania, N. E. (2017). Examination Records. NECTA.
Tobias, S. (1993). Overcoming math anxiety. New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company. UNICEF. (2011)., Uganda. Retrieved from www.unicef.org/infob ycountry/uganda_statistics.htm.
Vitasari, P. a. (2010). The use of study anxiety intervention in reducing anxiety to improve academic performance among university students. {International Journal of Psychological Studies, 89.
Zakariya, Y. F. (2018). Development of mathematics anxiety scale: Factor analysis as a determinant of subcategories. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 2(2), 135-144. (n.d.).
Copyright (c) 2024 John Saqware Francis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.