The Relationship between Pre-Service Primary School Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Anxiety and Their Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Mathematics

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pre-service primary school teachers' mathematics teaching anxiety and their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. There were a total of 250 pre-service primary school teachers involved in this study. Of the total, 202 were female and 48 were male pre-service primary school teachers. In the collection of the data, the researchers employed two types of instruments: the Mathematics Teaching Anxiety Scale (MATAS) and the Mathematics Related Beliefs Scale (MRBS). MATAS, which was developed by Peker (2006), was used to identify the pre-service teachers' anxiety about teaching mathematics. MATAS is a five-point Liker-type scale with 23 positive and negative items. MRBS, which was developed by Kayan, Haser and Işıksal Bostan (2013), was used to identify their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. MRBS is a five-point Liker-type scale with 26 items. The correlation analysis statistics was performed to identify the relationship between pre-service primary school teachers' mathematics teaching anxiety and their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics. The study revealed that there were a significant, negative relations between pre-service primary school teachers' mathematics teaching anxiety and their beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics (r=-.428; p<0.01).

The Effect of Pre-service Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics Teaching-Learning on Their Mathematics Teaching Anxiety

“…These results are similar to the results of the study by Başpınar and Peker (2016). In their study on pre-service primary school teachers, Başpınar and Peker (2016) found no significant correlation between traditional beliefs and anxiety about self-confidence, attitude, and pedagogical content knowledge. However, the results of the present study are partially similar to the results of the study by Peker (2016b).…”

“…In the literature, there is a limited number of studies on the correlation between the components of pre-service teachers' beliefs on math teaching and learning and the components of math teaching anxiety (Peker, 2016b;Başpınar and Peker, 2016). However, whether the components of the beliefs on math teaching and learning have an effect on the components of the anxiety about math teaching or vice versa has not been clearly explained.…”

“…Affective responses affect the attitudes in a number of ways (Maio & Haddock, 2015). Also, some other have investigated the correlation between beliefs regarding math, which belongs to cognitive and affective components, and math anxiety (Uusimaki & Nason, 2004;Walsh, 2008;Hacıömeroğlu, 2013), and the correlation between beliefs regarding math and math teaching anxiety (Ertekin, Dilmaç, Yazıcı & Peker, 2010;Peker, 2016b;Başpınar & Peker, 2016). However, there is a limited number of studies on the correlation between the components of pre-service teachers' beliefs on math teaching and learning and the components of math teaching anxiety (Peker, 2016b;Başpınar & Peker, 2016).…”

“…However, there is a limited number of studies on the correlation between the components of pre-service teachers' beliefs on math teaching and learning and the components of math teaching anxiety (Peker, 2016b;Başpınar & Peker, 2016). In their study on pre-service primary school teachers, Başpınar and Peker (2016) found no significant correlation between traditional beliefs, which is a component of beliefs on math teaching and learning, and anxiety about content knowledge, anxiety about self-confidence, anxiety about attitude toward math teaching and anxiety about pedagogical content knowledge, which are the components of math teaching anxiety. In the same study, they found a moderate level, negative and significant correlation between the constructivist beliefs, which is one of the components of beliefs regarding math teaching and learning, and anxiety about content knowledge, attitude toward math teaching and pedagogical content knowledge, which are the components of math teaching anxiety; and a low level, negative and significant correlation between the constructivist beliefs and anxiety about self-confidence.…”

“…On the other hand, math teaching anxiety includes four different components, which are anxiety about content knowledge, anxiety about self-confidence, anxiety about the attitude toward math teaching and anxiety about pedagogical content knowledge (Peker, 2006). There are studies in the literature on the correlation between pre-service teachers' math teaching anxiety and their perception of self-efficacy (Ural, 2015), beliefs on self-efficacy (Peker, 2015;2016a), beliefs regarding math (Ertekin, 2010), beliefs regarding epistemology (Ertekin, Dilmaç, Yazıcı, & Peker, 2010), and correlation between pre-service primary school teachers' math teaching anxiety and their beliefs regarding math teaching and learning (Başpınar & Peker, 2016). However, there have been studies on different practices that can have potential effects on math teaching anxiety, and traditional methods seem not to be effective (Peker, 2009a;2009b).…”