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A Cross-national Study of Mathematics Anxiety

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Abstract

Using an international education database, PISA 2012, this study compares 15-year-old students’ mathematics anxiety and its relationships with educational issues among five Asia Pacific economies (Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Shanghai, & Singapore), using descriptive, figural, partial correlative, multiple regressive, and factor analysis methods. The main variable, math anxiety, is made up primarily from six of ten items around student worry, tense, nervousness, or helplessness for mathematics difficulties, homework, tough problems, or poor grades. New findings present a perspective of student math anxiety and its impacts across economies with three different models: math anxiety has strong negative correlations with student standardized test scores, interests, and knowledge of mathematics in all economies; it has reverse relations with student abilities, importance, self-attribution in the high and low achievement economies; and it has weak correlations with teaching methods, parents’ influences, or friends’ performances. This study also discusses a series of questions for further study in mathematics learning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200051, China

    Zhenguo Yuan

  2. Department of Secondary Education and Educational Technology, SUNY, 324 Fitzelle Hall, Oneonta, USA

    Jiang Tan

  3. Research and Accountability, Houston Independent School District, 2NW38C, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, TX, 77092, USA

    Renmin Ye

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Appendix

Appendix

Items from PISA (2012) Student Questionnaire/Database

Gender

 ST04 Are you female or male?

 ST29 Think about your views on mathematics: to what extent do you agree with following statements?

Importance for Learning Mathematics: (Cronbach’s α = 0.900)

 b.

Making an effort in mathematics is worth it because it will help me in the work that I want to do later on

 e.

Learning mathematics is worthwhile for me because it will improve my career < prospects, chances > 

 g.

Mathematics is an important subject for me because I need it for what I want to study later on

 h.

I will learn many things in mathematics that will help me get a job

Interests in mathematics (Cronbach’s α = 0.896)

 a.

I enjoy reading about mathematics

 d.

I do mathematics because I enjoy it

 f.

I am interested in the things I learn in mathematics

ST35 Thinking about how people important to you view mathematics: how strongly do you agree with the following statements?

Friends’ performance in mathematics: (Cronbach’s α = 0.711)

 a.

Most of my friends do well in mathematics

 b.

Most of my friends work hard at mathematics

 c.

My friends enjoy taking mathematics tests

Parents’ attitudes toward mathematics: (Cronbach’s α = 0.752)

 e.

My parents believe it’s important for me to study mathematics

 f.

My parents believe that mathematics is important for my career

 g.

My parents like mathematics

ST43 thinking about your mathematics lessons/(school): to what extent do you agree with the following statements?

Attribution of mathematics learning to oneself: (Cronbach’s α = 0.799)

 43a.

If I put enough effort I can succeed in mathematics

 43b.

Whether or not I do well in mathematics is completely up to me

 43e.

If I wanted to, I could do well in mathematics

ST62 Think about mathematical concepts: how familiar are you with the following terms?

 a.

Exponential Function

 b.

Divisor

 c.

Quadratic Function

 d.

 < Proper Number > 

 e.

Linear Equation

 f.

Vectors

 g.

Complex Number

 h.

Rational Number

 i.

Radicals

 j.

 < Subjunctive Scaling > 

 k.

Polygon

 l.

 < Declarative Fraction > 

 m.

Congruent Figure

 n.

Cosine

 o.

Arithmetic Mean

 p.

Probability

ST94 How well does each of the following statements below describe you?

Abilities to solve problems (Cronbach’s α = 0.850)

 a.

I can handle a lot of information

 c.

I seek explanations for things

 e.

I like to solve complex problems

Variables in student questionnaire of PISA 2012

ESCS, position 659–657: Index of economic, social and cultural status

PV(1–5)MATH, positions 1150–1194: Plausible values in mathematics

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Yuan, Z., Tan, J. & Ye, R. A Cross-national Study of Mathematics Anxiety. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 32, 295–306 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-022-00652-7

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