The Influence of Math Anxiety and Reduction Strategies to the Teacher Education Students'
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Keywords
math anxiety, math anxiety reduction, quality point average, scholastic performance, education
Abstract
Math anxiety have always been known to have negative effects on the academic performance of students. This study determined the level of math anxiety and the anxiety reduction strategies employed by the Teacher Education students. The data were collected using questionnaires distributed to the 172 Teacher Education students chosen using a stratified random sampling procedure. The anxiety and anxiety reduction variables were correlated with the Quality Point Average (QPA) grades of the students for the whole semester. This investigation found that the students experienced a fair amount of math anxiety and sometimes employed strategies to reduce their level of anxiety. Pearson r correlation determined that math anxiety has weak negative relationship with the QPA while reduction strategies have no relationship at all. Thus, math anxiety adversely affected the scholastic performance of the students. It is recommended that teachers create a positive learning environment employing relevant real life problems so students appreciate Mathematics as a tool that can be used in life and that the guidance office may provide counseling sessions to students with high math anxiety.
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