Development of Math Anxiety Rating Scale PDF

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Math Anxiety Rating Scale Development of Math Anxiety Rating Scale Draper, Shaira Liwanag, Anette L. Serafico, Monique Anne Villafuerte, Arianne Joie St. Paul University Manila Math Anxiety Rating Scale Abstract Math Anxiety is the main subject of this scale development paper. A group of researchers...

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Development of Math Anxiety Rating Scale Anette Liwanag

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Math Anxiety Rating Scale

Development of Math Anxiety Rating Scale

Draper, Shaira Liwanag, Anette L. Serafico, Monique Anne Villafuerte, Arianne Joie

St. Paul University Manila

Math Anxiety Rating Scale Abstract Math Anxiety is the main subject of this scale development paper. A group of researchers have come up to develop a Math Anxiety Rating Scale because of the gaps they have found on the past researches about the Math Anxiety Test. A test consisting of 30 items were constructed by the researchers through following and understanding underlying constructs and theories that cover Math Anxiety. Therewith, two main dimensions that serve as the factors of encountering Math Anxiety, those are the Cognitive dimension and the Affective Dimension. From the past researches, there have been arguments on what really are the factors that cover Math Anxiety. That was the gap that the researchers were trying to answer in. Samples of 291 non-math major college students were the respondents of the Math Anxiety Rating Scale. The test was conducted with two different approaches. Data gathering was simultaneously done through (1) Direct Approach; paper-and-pencil-test wherein they and (2) through online testing. The data were encoded to IBM software called SPSS. This tool was able to help the researchers find out the result on the different statistical techniques. Relevant results from the SPSS made the researchers to go back again to their test and observe if there must be items to be eliminated. Statistical results such, Cronbach Alpha .970, suggested a good internal consistency estimate of items. KMO Measure, .963 suggesting an acceptable sampling adequacy, Bartlett’s Test of Spherecity as 0.000. As a conclusion, this current study can still be developed and improved. There were evident conflicts between the theoretical basis of the researchers and the results given by the SPSS.

Math Anxiety Rating Scale Development of Math Anxiety Rating Scale A group of college students have come up with scale development paper that focuses the anxiety of (also) college students towards Math in Academic setting. As defined, Mathematics, either can be a major subject or a minor subject to college students significantly gives anxiety especially in school (academic setting) when doing activities such as homeworks, boardworks in a class discussion and seatworks after a series of lessons in Mathematics. Mathematics is a subject which elicits many different attitudes and feelings.

Among these attitudes are general feelings towards the subject, such as liking or enjoyment, and more specific attitudes such as confidence and anxiety. There is a considerable body of studies which examines attitudes towards mathematics, one of the earliest reviews being that by Feierabend (1960, in Aiken, 1970) A marked increase in the number of articles and dissertations in the ten years following Feierabend's report provided the stimulus for a reappraisal by Aiken (1970). As anxiety and mathematics have been combined to for a one construct which what we call Math Anxiety, we can simply define that this math anxiety often leads to avoidance of math by those who experience it and it is noticeable that students who are anxious, bored and fearful towards math or who do not comprehend the importance of math in professional and personal life are the once most likely to avoid the study of math.

In this present study of the researchers, they have found the two main constructs that cover Math Anxiety. A multidimensional rating scale is developed to find out if really is these two factors affect anxiety towards Mathematics and these two dimensions are the Cognitive Factor and the Affective Factor.

Math Anxiety Rating Scale

A lot of scales were developed and constructed to measure an individual’s math anxiety. In this research paper, a Math Anxiety Scale is being developed. Through underlying theories that make up this Math Anxiety Scale and definitions of constructs, the researchers will be able to construct and even more, develop a Math Anxiety Scale with multi-dimensions.

Construct and Construct Definition Math Anxiety is found to have no single underlying theory. There is a noticeable lack of any clear theoretical basis for mathematics anxiety, in either the research or the treatment literature. Parallel to this, there also no single and fixed definition that could describe Math Anxiety. However, there were authors and theorists that gave Math Anxiety specific definitions despite of it, being a wide range of study. Math Anxiety was not only described through a single dimension or a factor. Since there were theoretical considerations, researchers found that there are number of theories which might be applicable, these being general anxiety theories and theories taken from the field of test anxiety.

Considerations to these many applicable theories lead the researchers to define Math Anxiety with two dimensions; Cognitive and Affect.

Mathematics 

Mathematics is a subject which elicits many different attitudes and feelings. Among these attitudes are general feelings towards the subject, such as liking or enjoyment, and more specific attitudes such as confidence and anxiety. Feierabend (1960, in Aiken, 1970

Math Anxiety

Math Anxiety Rating Scale 

Feelings of tension and anxiety that interefere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations (Richardson and Suinn, 1972).

Affective Anxiety 

Refers to the emotional component of anxiety, feelings of nervousness, tension, dread, fear, and unpleasant physiological reactions to testing situaions

Cognitive Anxiety 

Refers to the worry component of anxiety, which often displayed through negative expectation, preoccupation with and self-deprecatory thoughts about an anxiety-causing situation.

Review of Literature

Mathematics. Mathematics is the science of quantity. It is the classification and study of all possible patterns (Sawyer, 1995). Mathematics is also a gateway to engineering, scientific and technological fields (Mahmood, 2011). Mathematics, either can be a major subject or a minor subject to college students significantly gives anxiety especially in school (academic setting) when doing activities such as home works, board works in a class discussion and seat works after a series of lessons in Mathematics. Mathematics is a subject which elicits many different attitudes and feelings. Among these attitudes are general feelings towards the subject, such as liking or enjoyment, and more specific attitudes such as confidence and anxiety. There is a considerable body of studies which examines attitudes towards mathematics, one of the earliest reviews being that by Feierabend (1960, in Aiken, 1970) A marked increase in the number of articles and dissertations in the ten years following Feierabend's report provided the stimulus for

Math Anxiety Rating Scale reappraisal by Aiken (1970). As anxiety and mathematics have been combined to for a one construct which what we call Math Anxiety, we can simply define that this math anxiety often leads to avoidance of math by those who experience it and it is noticeable that students who are anxious, bored and fearful towards math or who do not comprehend the importance of math in professional and personal life are the once most likely to avoid the study of math. A lot of scales were developed and constructed to measure an individual’s math anxiety. In this research paper, a Math Anxiety Scale is being developed. Through underlying theories that make up this Math Anxiety Scale and definitions of constructs, the researchers will be able to construct and even more, develop a Math Anxiety Scale with multi-dimensions. Math Anxiety is found to have a no single underlying theory. There is a noticeable lack of any clear theoretical basis for mathematics anxiety, in either the research or the treatment literature. Parallel to this, there also no single and fixed definition that could describe Math Anxiety. However, there were authors and theorists that gave Math Anxiety specific definitions despite of it, being a wide range of study. Math Anxiety was not only described through a single dimension or a factor. Since there were theoretical considerations, researchers found that there are number of theories which might be applicable, these being general anxiety theories and theories taken from the field of test anxiety. Considerations to these many applicable theories lead the researchers to define Math Anxiety with two dimensions; Cognitive and Affect. Test anxiety and mathematics anxiety were among the different types of anxiety being studied in the 1950's and since that time mathematics anxiety research has grown in parallel with, although lagging slightly behind, research in the field of test anxiety. In spite of an apparently close relationship between mathematics anxiety and test anxiety there has been less cross-fertilization between these two fields than would be expected. Of the many researchers into test anxiety only Suinn (1970, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1988) and

Math Anxiety Rating Scale Richardson (1972, 1973, 1980) appear to have shown a consistent interest in mathematics anxiety. Other theory of test anxiety involves its dimensionality. Where areas test anxiety was originally seen as a unidimensional construct. Libert and Morris (1967) were first to propose a two-factor model of test anxiety that distinguished between an affective “emotionality” and a cognitive worry dimension of test anxiety. More recently, Deffenbacher has noted that emotionality may relate more to the degree of awareness or attention paid to affectiveautonomic arousal rather than to the level of arousal per se (1980, p. 123). According to Richadson and Suinn (1972), feelings of tension and anxiety interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations. Liebert and Morris (1967) distinguished two components of math anxiety; affective and cognitive. Affective Anxiety refers to the emotional component of anxiety, feelings of nervousness, tension, dread, fear, and unpleasant physiological reactions to testing situations. Cognitive Anxiety refers to the worry component of anxiety, which often displayed through negative expectation, preoccupation with and self-deprecatory thoughts about an anxiety-causing situation.

Measurement and Dimensionality of Mathematics Anxiety By: James B. Rounds, Jr., and Darwin D. Hendel The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensionality of one such measure of mathematics anxiety, the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS). The results of the study indicated that contrary to previous statements (Richardson & Suinn, 1972), mathematics anxiety as measured by the MARS is not a unidimensional construct. Two factors were identified and labeled Mathematics Test Anxiety and Numerical Anxiety. The results of this study suggest that

Math Anxiety Rating Scale for the female sample, the domain of mathematics anxiety as measured by the MARS is best described not as anxiety about everyday numerical manipulation, but primarily as test anxiety and secondarily as anxiety associated with mathematics courses. The data indicate that the female participants were relatively unconcerned about numerical manipulation in the context of daily activities. The distribution of the Mathematics Test Anxiety Scale and Numerical Anxiety Scale scores indicate that anxiety about mathematics is situationally specific and not Tran situational. Also, the article suggests that the usefulness of present instrumentation of mathematics anxiety is hampered by the lack of an adequate definition of mathematics. Results also said that mathematics anxiety as conceptualized by Richardson and Suinn (1972) can be measured with the factor-derived scales. Compared to the 98-item MARS, these two 15-item factor-derived scales will take less time to complete. Since the assessment of a client's status with multifactorial rather than uni-factorial measures may mask changes, Bergin and Lambert (1978) have recommended the development of indices that are more situation specific than the presently used global-improvement indices. Another assessment tool that may be helpful for participants in mathematics anxiety treatment programs is a measure of test anxiety. Results from the present study also showed that the participants were almost as apprehensive about tests in general as tests in particular (i.e., mathematics tests). The MARS factor-derived scales provide descriptive information; they do not provide explanations of anxiety about mathematics. Attention to the client's background data can be useful in exploring possible explanations, as for example, in the present study in which a mean of 16.5 years had elapsed since the participants had had formal mathematics training. It is a reasonable assumption that anxiety about mathematics can occur when future career and educational goals in part depend on success in mathematics courses for which an individual feels inadequately prepared and insufficiently

Math Anxiety Rating Scale experienced. Until more is known about the characteristics of individuals who elect to enter mathematics-anxiety treatment programs, counselors may want to supplement the MARS factorderived scales with other types of measures (e.g., mathematics attitude scales, mathematics skill tests) to aid in the description of individual constellations of mathematics difficulties. The application of multimodal treatment plans (see Mathison, Note 1) emphasizing some combination of remediation or math-skills building, mathematics curricular intervention (e.g., math labs, individualized instruction), and psychological intervention seems to be sound strategy for counselors involved in mathematics-anxiety treatment programs. In terms of psychological intervention, it should be noted that the cognitive and self-control treatments as presented by Suinn and Richardson (1971) and Hendel and Davis (1978) seem more effective in reducing mathematics anxiety than do insight-oriented counseling and systematic desensitization. Mathematics anxiety has been postulated—especially for women—to affect enrollment in mathematics courses, learning of mathematics, and mathematics performance, thereby affecting a student's educational and career goals. These results and the results from this study suggest that the concept and/or measures of mathematics anxiety may need revision to be of sufficient value to enrich our understanding of mathematics learning and performance. www.researchgate.net/...Rounds/.../0912f5123d9e6bd134000000.pdf

The Affective and Cognitive Dimensions of Math Anxiety: A Cross-National Study By: Hsiu-Zu Ho, Deniz Senturk, Amy G. Lam, Jules M. Zimmer, Sehee Hong, and Yukari Okamoto

Math Anxiety Rating Scale This study focuses on math anxiety, comparing its dimensions, levels, and relationship with mathematics achievement across samples of 6th-grade students from China, Taiwan, and the United States. First, the study fills in research gaps showing that the heuristic distinction between affective and cognitive dimensions of math anxiety found in the United States is also relevant for samples in other nations, specifically China and Taiwan. Second, the findings also generalize the negative effect of math anxiety, specifically the affective factor, on mathematics achievements in samples in China and Taiwan. Given the possibility that the high-achieving Asian students may not experience debilitating math anxiety, the finding that affective math anxiety was also a debilitating factor in mathematics performance in Asian samples is significant. The distinction between affective and cognitive effects on performance has important implications for intervention strategies. The study cannot presume that the etiology of math anxiety is the same across the three cultures; hence further research would be needed to examine the effectiveness of such interventions in reducing math anxiety in Asian students. Although the desirability of facilitative tensions in learning situations is recognized, environments that provoke nervousness, dread, and fear are not in the best interest of students. http://mina.education.ucsb.edu/ho/documents/%2338.pdf

Current Study According to Bergin and Lambert (1978), the development of indices that are more situation specific than the presently used global-improvement indices would be more useful. This gap was not filled by further scale developments made so the researchers came to a decision to make a scale about specific setting: academic. Mathematics, either can be a major subject or a minor subject to college students significantly gives anxiety especially in school (academic

Math Anxiety Rating Scale setting) when doing activities such as home works, board works in a class discussion and seat works after a series of lessons in Mathematics. Tertiary students have been chosen due to lack of thorough studies about Math Anxiety which particularly concentrates on them. In the previous studies, lack of attention towards the clients’ backgrounds has been suggested to be given more focus. Clients’ backgrounds can be useful in providing sufficient explanations as to why these people have this anxiety towards math. In line with this, future researches can be made by finding these explanations that would lead to the advancements of solutions and treatments that could alleviate math difficulties/anxieties. With this gap, the researchers have chosen non-math major college students as their primary source of data and subjects. Non-math major college students might be helpful in providing more concrete explanations as to why they are anxious towards math (e.g. think they lack of advanced mathematical training). Another gap observed is the clarification of the potential distinction between cognitive anxiety that serves as a facilitator and cognitive anxiety that is a debilitator but the researchers have not focused on this particular opening.

The researchers have observed research gaps to fill in the course of the Math Anxiety Scale history. A lot of scales were developed and constructed to measure an individual’s math anxiety. Through underlying theories that make up this Math Anxiety Scale and definitions of constructs, the researchers will be able to construct and even more, develop a Math Anxiety Scale with multi-dimensions: affective and cognitive. The main purpose of this scale development is to develop a scale which is directed to measure Math Anxiety of Non-math major tertiary students. In the hope of promoting further research that will advance understanding of the relationship between anxiety of students towards math and their goal/career orientation.

Math Anxiety Rating Scale

Item Writing The researchers have conducted a thorough study about Math Anxiety in educational setting, brought up relevant data about the construct, review of related literature, defining the construct Math Anxiety as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations. (Richardson and Suinn, 1972) With the gathered theory, the items are brought up by the following manifestations and attitudes when anxiety arises. We have come up of two proponents from our definition and construct by the following: 1. Affective Anxiety refers to...