Factors influencing students’ mathematics achievement and their choice to study further mathematics

Abstract

The present study investigated the antecedents and consequences of children’s math anxiety and math attitude. A total of 875 students aged 10 to 17 years (5th to 12th grades) and one parent of each (mother or father) participated in the study. The study was conducted in India, with the study sample drawn from schools in South-West Punjab. Math anxiety of parents and their children was measured using the Mathematics Anxiety Scale Short-Version (MARS-SV), the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Elementary School Students (MARS-E), and the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale for Adolescents (MARS-A). Math attitude was assessed with the Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI). A math achievement test was constructed for each grade level based on their curriculum. Path analyses were conducted to test the suggested conceptual model and the results indicate that parental math anxiety and math attitude act as precursors to their children’s math anxiety and math attitude, and further influence the math achievement of their children. Teachers’ attitude toward math contributes positively to their children’s math attitude. Males perform better than females in math achievement across grades. The decision to study further math depends on the kind of attitude, the children hold about math.