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Abstract

The issue of math attitude and math anxiety in STEM students has been till now overlooked. However, the issue occurring in many countries is students’ falling out of the STEM education system during their studies. One of the reasons for this problem may be high math anxiety and a negative math attitude among students. The present study fills a gap in knowledge about this phenomenon among STEM students. 371 Polish STEM students filled questionnaires of math attitude (MASA) and math anxiety (MAQA, SIMA, AMAS). The results are as follow: The mean results show that STEM students have a very positive math attitude in affective and cognitive dimensions and a rather positive math attitude in the behavioral area; On average, STEM students feel very weak anxiety related to math problem solving, weak general math anxiety and math learning anxiety, and a moderate level of math testing anxiety; Among STEM students there are those who present a very negative/negative math attitude and very strong/strong math anxiety; Women feel more intense anxiety related to math problem solving, but there is no gender gap in general math anxiety, math learning and math testing anxiety, and in math attitude. The results suggest that math attitude and math anxiety of STEM students should be monitored. Indeed, not all STEM students have a positive math attitude and feel no math anxiety. Moreover, proper interventions are recommended to decrease math anxiety and improve positive math attitude that in turn may prevent the students’ dropping out from STEM studies.
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Authors and Affiliations

Monika Szczygieł
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland
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Abstract

Starting in the early years of education, math anxiety is negatively related to mathematic outcomes, therefore there is a need for its adequate measurement in young children. This study presents the psychometric properties of the modified Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale for Elementary Children (mAMAS-E) for first- to third-grade children based on mAMAS. The validity of mAMAS-E was determined by a series of tests. The analysis confirmed its two-factor structure (Testing and Learning), positive relationships between mAMAS-E and math, general, and test anxiety, and a negative relationship with mathematical achievement. Children with a high level of math self-esteem and math self-confidence (but not Polish language self-esteem and self-confidence) have lower math anxiety in comparison to those with a moderate level. The results also indicate that girls have a higher level of math anxiety than boys. The validity and internal consistency of mAMAS-E are satisfactory; therefore, mAMAS-E may be a recommendable questionnaire for measuring math anxiety in young children.

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Authors and Affiliations

Monika Szczygieł
ORCID: ORCID

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