MATHEMATICAL ANXIETY AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS

Abstract

Math anxiety is worry or fear about solving math problems. It is not a distinct medical condition, but a way of describing anxiety that occurs in a specific situation. A person with math anxiety may feel anxious any time they have to use math skills, from classes at school to calculating a restaurant bill. It is also known as Math Phobia. It is a feeling of tension and anxiety that interferes with the manipulation of numbers. Math anxiety or a fear of math is common, and although it can limit performance in certain situations and contexts, it’s not linked to intelligence or ability. So, in this context the present study has been conducted to examine the mathematical anxiety among high school students in relation to their achievement in mathematics. The present descriptive study is quantitative in nature. A standardized tool namely Mathematical Anxiety ScaleIndia by Karimi and Venkatesan (2011) has been used in the study. The tool contains 36 items comprising two factors (17 items of Math Test Anxiety & 19 items of Numerical Anxiety). A sample of 250 students studying in ninth class has been selected through Simple Random Sampling Technique. The data collected were analyzed by using Percentage and Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation. With the help of SPSS, results of the study revealed that there is no significant relationship between mathematical anxiety and their achievement in mathematics in relation to their gender and residential background for both the factors. But there is a significant negative correlation between mathematical anxiety and their achievement in mathematics in relation to their economic status for the factor Math Test Anxiety of high economic status students.