Identifier	Thesis 1923
Author	Begley, Tracy A.
Title	An Investigation of Mathematics Anxiety Across Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date of Publication	2007
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Abstract	Numerous studies can be found regarding the development of mathematics anxiety with secondary and college level students. However, little can be found providing evidence of mathematics anxiety in elementary school students. In an attempt to offer more research in this field with younger students, this study evaluated students' mathematics anxiety in grades third, fourth, and fifth to determine whether mathematics anxiety increases across (a) third and fourth grade, (b) fourth and fifth grade, and (c) third and fifth grade. Data was also used to determine whether scores differed from each other as a function of grade or gender. Finally, survey questions were analyzed to determine which type of anxiety the students responded most negatively towards across each of the three grades: test anxiety or numerical anxiety. The Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, Elementary Form (MARS-E) was utilized to obtain the mathematics anxiety scores from each of the students in grades third, fourth, and fifth. Analysis of variance tests were performed with both populations: unmatched and matched sample sizes from each of the three grades. Initial conclusions from an unmatched sample provided weak evidence supporting an increase in mathematics anxiety across third and fifth grade with no significant difference across third and fourth grade as well as across fourth and fifth grade. A second analysis performed with equal sample sizes supported the initial findings that there was no significant difference across the third and fourth grade or across the fourth and fifth grade. This analysis differed from the first in that it demonstrated no significant difference across the third and fifth grade. No evidence was found indicating that there was an interaction between grade and gender for either of the unmatched or matched samples for each of the three grades. Finding the mode for each of the survey questions within each grade determined which levels of anxiety occurred the most for each question. Highest levels of anxiety were found to occur the most for the same test anxiety items in both the third and fourth grades, while the highest levels of anxiety across the third, fourth, and fifth grades were split between test anxiety and numerical anxiety items. Lower levels of anxiety that occurred the most for each of the survey items across the three grades were situations relating to numerical anxiety.
Subject	Math anxiety Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
Department	Department of Mathematical Sciences
Advisor	Halloran, Philip P
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	713734971
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An Investigation of Mathematics Anxiety Across Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade

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