A correlational-comparative study of Grades 6 to 8 students' mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety according to their gender and Grade levelat Pan-Asia International School, Bangkok

Abstract

This study was designed to identify middle school students’ mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety levels at the Pan-Asia International School (PAIS) in Thailand and to determine if there was a significant difference among students’ mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety levels according to their gender and the grade level, and further aimed out to find out if any statistically significant relationship between their mathematics self-efficacy and the mathematics anxiety exists. The study focused on ninety-four Grade 6-8 students at PAIS in the academic year 2017-2018. The researcher used the Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Questionnaire (MSEAQ) to identify their levels of mathematics self-efficacy and anxiety and data organized according to gender and grade levels of students. The data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed descriptively as frequency tables, mean and standard deviations and inferentially by independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA test, and the method of Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient. The results of this study showed that the level of students’ mathematics self-efficacy and anxiety were moderate and there was no significant difference neither between the genders nor among their grade levels. In terms of the association between mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics anxiety, the current study revealed a significant and a strong negative relationship based on the Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient at the .05 level.