Predicting mathematical competence in compulsory Secondary education through math anxiety and attitudes toward mathematics

Resumen

Mathematical underperformance has become a worrisome issue in many countries. As widely acknowledged, even when students have the proper intellectual skills, intrusive thoughts, such as low self-confidence in their own ability to do well in the subject, may hinder the successful completion of mathematical tasks. In this line, secondary education students’ low achievement and engagement in mathematics are closely related to two constructs: math anxiety and attitudes toward mathematics. However, an exhaustive literature review draws attention to the inconsistency in the definition and corresponding development of the factor structure for both constructs. Therefore, the first two aims of this research are to develop and validate, through confirmatory techniques, the Scale for Assessing Math Anxiety in Secondary education (SAMAS) and the Scale for Assessing Attitudes Toward Mathematics in Secondary education (SATMAS). Both measures are proposed based on a preliminary detailed theoretical framework of the constructs and a comprehensive literature review on the existing instruments for their measurement. Additionally, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approaches have pointed out the causal relationships between these two variables, woven tightly together, and mathematics achievement. However, evidence is still scarce and strongly reliant on the psychometrical properties of the measures used. In an effort to address these shortcomings, the present research has a third aim, which is to propose and validate a structural model for testing both the interaction effect between math anxiety and attitudes toward mathematics and their mediation role between students’ prior and later mathematics achievement during a school year. For the previously noted purposes, the research sample consisted of 792 students from Biscay (Basque Country Autonomous Region, Spain), enrolled in Compulsory Secondary Education. To conclude, the contribution of this PhD thesis to the research on- and teaching of mathematics is discussed, and some issues are suggested for future research to address.