Poster #85 - Reciprocal Associations of Students’ Mathematics Anxiety and Achievement: Can Teacher Sensitivity Make a Difference?

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

Mathematics anxiety is a prevalent concern for students worldwide and the accompanying worries and unpleasant affective reactions threaten their well-being (OECD, 2013; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002). Beyond that, the potentially negative consequences of anxiety for student development make it a highly relevant topic. Prior research indicated that students experiencing mathematics anxiety reported lower concurrent math-related self-concepts, interest, and enjoyment; they performed worse on standardized tests and received lower grades (Hambree, 1990; Hill et al, 2016; Henschel & Roick, 2017). The causal relationship between anxiety and achievement, in particular, has been of interest in theoretical models proposing that either students’ anxiety impedes performance or that failure at mathematics-related tasks induces anxiety (e.g., Ramirez, Shaw, & Maloney, 2018). However, due to a lack of longitudinal studies investigating the longitudinal interplay of the two constructs, insights about the causal processes are scarce, especially, in the sensitive phase of early adolescence. In addition, the question arises of how to reduce students’ mathematics anxiety in order to enhance well-being and, perhaps, protect students against negative academic trajectories. Currently, different therapeutic interventions for individual students are available (see for an overview Dowker, Sarkar, & Looi, 2016). However, we know surprisingly little about the role teachers could play for reducing anxiety for a larger number of students. Drawing on the idea that teachers’ awareness and responsiveness to learning difficulties and negative emotions will help students regulate their anxiety (Hamre & Pianta, 2007; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Pianta, 1999), teacher sensitivity regarding academic and emotional needs might represent a particularly important factor.

To address these research desiderata, the present study drew on longitudinal data from N = 1,370 students who took part in sixth and seventh grade. Participants attended standardized mathematics achievement tests, reported on their mathematics anxiety in terms of worry and emotionality, and their mathematics teachers’ sensitivity. For obtaining a comprehensive picture, parents rated their children’s anxiety and we included report card grades as an additional indicator of mathematics achievement.

Results of latent cross-lagged panel analyses showed that worry and emotionality in sixth grade were related to lower test scores and worse grades the following year. In contrast, the only cross-lagged association between achievement in sixth grade and later anxiety was found for test scores and subsequent worry. Teacher sensitivity represented a resource and was related to a decrease in both worry and emotionality, in particular, for anxious students. However, it did not moderate the negative relationship of anxiety and later achievement. Supporting the validity of these results, the findings were largely similar in models using either student’s self-reported or parent-reported anxiety.

The study demonstrated the need to consider mathematics anxiety as an important factor shaping secondary school students’ educational pathways. Even though teacher sensitivity did not buffer the negative association of anxiety and achievement, having a teacher who was sensitive to individual academic difficulties and emotional needs helped to reduce anxiety, especially, among math-anxious students.

Authors

• Karen Aldrup, Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education
  Presenting Author

• Uta Klusmann, Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education
  Non-Presenting Author

• Oliver Lüdtke, Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education
  Non-Presenting Author