Relation between personal mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety at secondary level in Bangladesh

Abstract

The participants in this study were 242 in-service secondary school teachers who taught mathematics at secondary level where 193 (79.8%) of them were male teachers and 49 (20.2%) were female teachers. McAnallen Anxiety in Mathematics Teaching Survey (MAMTS, 2010) was used as a tool containing 25 items where 13 items were related to the professional mathematics anxiety and 12 items were related to the personal mathematics anxiety. Out of 25 items of MAMTS, 12 items were positively worded and 13 items were negatively worded. The positive and negative items were not arranged in the original scale serially. To check the validity and reliability of the tool, piloting was done. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine if the constructs for mathematics teaching anxiety and personal mathematics anxiety were valid. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relation between personal mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety. Regression analysis was done to know the model that means the dependency of mathematics teaching anxiety on personal mathematics anxiety. The factors personal mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety were highly and positively correlated. It was also found that mathematics teaching anxiety is 79% depended on personal mathematics anxiety and which was statistically significant at 99% confidence level. It can be concluded that if personal mathematics anxiety will increase then mathematics teaching anxiety will increase.