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Simmons FR, Soto-Calvo E, Adams AM, Francis HN, Patel H, Hartley C. Longitudinal associations between parental mathematics anxiety and attitudes and young children's mathematics attainment. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 238:105779. [PMID: 37783015 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
The associations between parental mathematics anxiety and attitudes and children's mathematics attainment in early primary school were explored. Initially, parents of preschool children (Mage = 3;11 [years;months]) completed a questionnaire indexing parental mathematics anxiety and attitudes and the frequency of preschool home number experiences. The children completed mathematics assessments in their first year (n = 231, Mage = 5;2) and second year (n = 119, Mage = 6;3) of schooling and a mathematics anxiety questionnaire in their third year of schooling (n = 119, Mage = 6;7). A questionnaire indexing the frequency of primary school home number experiences was completed by 119 of the parents in their children's second year of schooling (Mage = 6;0). All indices of parental mathematics anxiety and attitudes predicted children's mathematics attainment in their first school year. These associations were independent of parental mathematics attainment and were not mediated by the frequency of preschool home number experiences. Furthermore, the positive association between preschool home number experiences and children's mathematics attainment was not weaker in the context of high parental mathematics anxiety or negative parental mathematics attitudes. One index of parental mathematics attitudes predicted children's mathematics attainment in their second school year, but this association was not significant when prior attainment was controlled. There was a stronger association between maternal mathematics anxiety and girls' attainment versus boys' attainment. Parental mathematics anxiety did not predict children's mathematics anxiety. The findings suggest that children whose parents have high mathematics anxiety or negative mathematics attitudes are more likely to have lower mathematics attainment in their first year of school. However, the mechanism underpinning this association is not yet established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona R Simmons
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
| | - Elena Soto-Calvo
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Anne-Marie Adams
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Hannah N Francis
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Hannah Patel
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Courtney Hartley
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
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2
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Marakshina J, Pavlova A, Ismatullina V, Adamovich T, Mironets S, Sitnikova MA, Lobaskova M, Malykh S. The Russian version of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale: psychometric properties in adolescents aged 13-16 years. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1275212. [PMID: 38162961 PMCID: PMC10757330 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1275212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
This study is the first to assess the internal consistency and factor validity of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in a sample of Russian adolescents as well as gender differences and gender invariance. The study included 4,218 adolescents in grades 7-9 (M = 14.23, SD = 0.92). Internal consistency, measured with Cronbach's alpha, was high. Analysis of the factor structure revealed the best correspondence of the second-order factor model, which included two scales (learning math anxiety and math evaluation anxiety) and the general scale of math anxiety. There were greater gender differences in the all three scales. Analysis of gender invariance demonstrated that the mathematics anxiety construct was uniform in boys and girls. These findings confirm the reliable psychometric properties and validity of the AMAS, enabling its use in adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Marakshina
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anna Pavlova
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Victoria Ismatullina
- Developmental Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Federal Research Centre of Psychological and Interdisciplinary Studies, Moscow, Russia
| | - Timofey Adamovich
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sofia Mironets
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maria A. Sitnikova
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Marina Lobaskova
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergey Malykh
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Educational Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia
- Developmental Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Federal Research Centre of Psychological and Interdisciplinary Studies, Moscow, Russia
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O’Connor PA, Morsanyi K, McCormack T. Basic Symbolic Number Skills, but Not Formal Mathematics Performance, Longitudinally Predict Mathematics Anxiety in the First Years of Primary School. J Intell 2023; 11:211. [PMID: 37998710 PMCID: PMC10672261 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11110211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Mathematical anxiety (MA) and mathematics performance typically correlate negatively in studies of adolescents and adults, but not always amongst young children, with some theorists questioning the relevance of MA to mathematics performance in this age group. Evidence is also limited in relation to the developmental origins of MA and whether MA in young children can be linked to their earlier mathematics performance. To address these questions, the current study investigated whether basic and formal mathematics skills around 4 and 5 years of age were predictive of MA around the age of 7-8. Additionally, we also examined the cross-sectional relationships between MA and mathematics performance in 7-8-year-old children. Specifically, children in our study were assessed in their first (T1; aged 4-5), second (T2; aged 5-6), and fourth years of school (T3; aged 7-8). At T1 and T2, children completed measures of basic numerical skills, IQ, and working memory, as well as curriculum-based mathematics tests. At T3, children completed two self-reported MA questionnaires, together with a curriculum-based mathematics test. The results showed that MA could be reliably measured in a sample of 7-8-year-olds and demonstrated the typical negative correlation between MA and mathematical performance (although the strength of this relationship was dependent on the specific content domain). Importantly, although early formal mathematical skills were unrelated to later MA, there was evidence of a longitudinal relationship between basic early symbolic number skills and later MA, supporting the idea that poorer basic numerical skills relate to the development of MA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kinga Morsanyi
- Mathematics Education Centre, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK;
| | - Teresa McCormack
- School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK;
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Mononen R, Niemivirta M, Korhonen J, Lindskog M, Tapola A. Developmental relations between mathematics anxiety, symbolic numerical magnitude processing and arithmetic skills from first to second grade. Cogn Emot 2021; 36:452-472. [PMID: 34915812 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.2015296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the levels of and changes in mathematics anxiety (MA), symbolic numerical magnitude processing (SNMP) and arithmetic skills, and how those changes are linked to each other. Children's (n = 264) MA, SNMP and arithmetic skills were measured in Grade 1, and again in Grade 2, also including a mathematics performance test. All three constructs correlated significantly within each time point, and the rank-order stability over time was high, particularly in SNMP and arithmetic skills. By means of latent change score modelling, we found overall increases in SNMP and arithmetic skills over time, but not in MA. Most interestingly, changes in arithmetic skills and MA were correlated (i.e. steeper increase in arithmetic skills was linked with less steep increase in MA), as were changes in SNMP and arithmetic skills (i.e. improvement in SNMP was associated with improvement in arithmetic skills). Only the initial level of arithmetic skills and change in it predicted mathematics performance. The only gender difference, in favour of boys, was found in SNMP skills. The differential effects associated with MA (developmentally only linked with arithmetic skills) and gender (predicting only changes in SNMP) call for further longitudinal research on the different domains of mathematical skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riikka Mononen
- Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Markku Niemivirta
- School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland.,Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Johan Korhonen
- Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Åbo, Finland
| | - Marcus Lindskog
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Education, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Tapola
- Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Szczygieł M. The relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in young children is mediated through working memory, not by number sense, and it is not direct. CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Bermejo V, Ester P, Morales I. A Constructivist Intervention Program for the Improvement of Mathematical Performance Based on Empiric Developmental Results (PEIM). Front Psychol 2021; 11:582805. [PMID: 33584416 PMCID: PMC7874197 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.582805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Teaching mathematics and improving mathematics competence are pending subjects within our educational system. The PEIM (Programa Evolutivo Instruccional para Matemáticas), a constructivist intervention program for the improvement of mathematical performance, affects the different agents involved in math learning, guaranteeing a significant improvement in students' performance. The program is based on the following pillars: (a) students become the main agents of their learning by constructing their own knowledge; (b) the teacher must be the guide to facilitate and guarantee such a construction by being a great connoisseur of the fundamental aspects of the development of the child's mathematical thinking; (c) the mathematical contents must be sequenced in terms of the complexity and significance for the student as well as contextualized at all times; and (d) the classroom must have a constructivist climate highlighting cooperative work among students. The implementation of PEIM along with the empirical evaluation conducted in several centers in Madrid and Zaragoza (Spain) confirm how students improve their mathematical competence. Both first- and second-grade students in elementary education were far more effective in solving problems, highlighting the use of more advanced strategies in their resolution and a lower incidence of conceptual errors. Moreover, it was possible to verify how the students proving greater difficulty, experienced an evolution in learning similarly to those who did not present it. The program provides customized education to allow the teacher to know at all times how he should be more influential on the students' learning through mathematical profiles. Both teaching practice and teachers were observed, being that of the experimental group more prone to analyzing processes and allowing the construction of knowledge by students, due to their psycho-developmental training. As a result, we found several improvements through the implementation of the program that may serve, for upcoming years, as a basis for the necessary changes in the teaching of mathematics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicente Bermejo
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Facultad de Educación, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Ester
- Facultad de Educación, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Morales
- Facultad de Educación, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, Spain
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Martín-Puga ME, Justicia-Galiano MJ, Gómez-Pérez MM, Pelegrina S. Psychometric Properties, Factor Structure, and Gender and Educational Level Invariance of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in Spanish Children and Adolescents. Assessment 2020; 29:425-440. [PMID: 33334166 DOI: 10.1177/1073191120980064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the factor structure and degree of measurement invariance of a Spanish adaptation of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) in primary and secondary school students (N = 1,504 students, 46.08% males, 7-19 years of age). The results of confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the original two-factor structure, although a modified two-factor model with one item loading simultaneously on both factors was better supported. Full measurement invariance was observed across gender, and partial measurement invariance was achieved across educational levels (primary and secondary education). The AMAS showed reasonable internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. These results highlight the utility of the AMAS as a measure of math anxiety in primary and secondary school students whose scores can be compared by gender and educational level.
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