The Mediating Role of Mathematics Self-concept in the Association of Self-esteem and Classroom Environment Perceptions with Math Anxiety in Students

Abstract

Background: Math anxiety (MA) emerges as a state of discomfort and anxiety when a student is faced with a math problem. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the association between self-esteem and classroom environment perceptions with math anxiety through the mediating role of mathematics self-concept (MSC) in female high school students. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on all the female high school students in Ahvaz, Iran in the academic year 2020 - 2021. In total, 237 students were selected as the sample population via single-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected using the Math Anxiety questionnaire (MAQ), Self-Esteem questionnaire (SEQ), Dundee Ready Educational Environment measure (DREEM), and Mathematical Self-Concept questionnaire (MSCQ). The proposed research model was evaluated using structural equation modeling. Results: With the exception of self-esteem and classroom environment perceptions (CEPs), all the direct paths were significantly correlated with MA (P = 0.001). Moreover, the indirect paths of self-esteem were significantly correlated with MA considering the mediating role of MSC (β = -0.240; P = 0.002). Furthermore, a significant association was observed between CEP and MA, mediated by MSC (β = -0.129; P = 0.001). Conclusions: According to the results, the proposed model had a good fit and could be an important step in identifying the influential factors in the MA of students.

Effect of an Integrated Active Lessons Programme through Playful Maths Games on Self-Concept, Self-Esteem and Social Skills in Preschool Children

“…These authors justified that maths is one of the more important subjects in early childhood. Perhaps there is an association with students who are better at mathematics from the earliest school years being more admired by their peers and more generally successful and therefore having better self-esteem and self-concept [ 23 , 24 ]. Finally, according to Fernández-Bustos et al [ 25 ], it is also important to explore the differential effects according to sex when these kinds of variables are analysed.…”

El autoconcepto académico en matemáticas: ruta hacia una categorización a través del método de análisis conceptual

“…El objetivo del presente trabajo, como se mencionó anteriormente, es la categorización del autoconcepto académico en matemáticas, el cual se considera un factor importante para la comprensión de otros fenómenos en el aula, relacionados con el dominio afectivo, como la ansiedad matemática (Naderi et al, 2021), y está directamente vinculado con el rendimiento académico (Carmona et al, 2011;Chaves et al, 2008).…”

“…La idea más reiterada en los trabajos revisados es que, en este tipo de autoconcepto, la percepción que la persona tiene sobre su capacidad para resolver problemas matemáticos es crucial para su comprensión (Carter et al, 2014;Lee y Kung, 2018). La resolución de problemas se relaciona con dos términos utilizados por los autores: las habilidades y las tareas matemáticas (Carter et al, 2014;Gil et al, 2005;Naderi et al, 2021). Además, en estos textos se incluyen palabras como capacidad y competencia académica individual, que se consideran parte de los progresos, éxitos y fracasos académicos a los que se hizo referencia en la sección anterior de este trabajo.…”

The Relationship of Self-Concept and Mathematics Performance of College Students in the New Normal

“…As observed, students struggle to understand the mathematical concepts and to perform mathematical operations stipulated in modules [3]. Educational institutions are trying to cope with managing the pandemic challenges [4][5][6] while some educators and researchers are trying to explore the non-cognitive dimensions of students [7][8][9][10][11] & [3] one of which is the students' self-concept towards mathematics.…”

“…Inspite of the abundance of literature on mathematics self-concept and mathematics performance, Peteros claimed in 2019 that self-concept have been less explored in the Philippine educational setting [18]. Recent local studies on self-concept were focused on high school students [18,3,11]. Further, very few were conducted with college students as respondents, particularly in the new normal settings.…”