Mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers

Chen, Fui Ping (2009) Mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers. [Final Year Project Report / IMRAD] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Mathematics anxiety had been shown to be a problem that can cause stress, affects students' academic careers and people's daily life. One hundred pre-service teachers who were enrolled in the Mathematics Education Programme and the Computer Science Education Programme at the Faculty Cognitive Sciences and Human Development (FCSHD) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) were selected as sample in this cross-sectional, correlational study. The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale-Short Version or MARS-S, and a previous researcher-developed questionnaire were used to measure the pre-service teachers' mathematics anxiety level and collect data regarding their perception on mathematics anxiety respectively. Pearson-product moment correlations analyses were used to determine the relationships between mathematics anxiety scores and grade level at which anxiety started, societal messages, various teaching strategies and pre-service teachers' perception regarding their own level of mathematics anxiety. The study also looked the teaching strategies that caused mathematics anxiety, strategies that help in reducing mathematics anxiety, and actions of parents or teachers that had effects on mathematics anxiety were sought. Results indicated that pre-service teachers experienced certain level of mathematics anxiety. The highest percentages of pre-service teachers started anxious toward mathematics as they enrolled in Form 6 or matriculation, followed by Form 4 and Form 1. Similarly, approximately two thirds expressed that secondary school mathematics was the first subject that made them felt anxious toward mathematics. Majority of the pre-service teachers felt that the society led them to believe the importance of mathematics for their future. Regarding teaching strategies, individual competitive mathematics activities, team competitive mathematics activities and independent mathematics work were the top three teaching strategies that caused the largest percentages of pre-service teachers' mathematics anxiety. On the other hand, making extra study time, doing all the homework and working with peer support groups were the top three strategies that helped a largest number of the pre-service teachers in alleviating their mathematics anxiety. A weak positive correlation existed between the mathematics anxiety score, as measured on the MARS-S and the participants' perceived level of mathematics anxiety. Most of the pre-service teachers believed that mathematics anxiety was caused by the lack of understanding toward mathematics. Mathematics anxiety has effects on pre-service teachers' achievements in mathematics, thus, lecturers in university should design and use appropriate teaching strategies that could reduce pre-service teachers' negative feeling towards mathematics. X

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