The Role of Attitude toward Mathematics, Fear of Negative Evaluation and Stress Level for Academic Expectations in Predicting Mathematics Achievement

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine to what extent the emotional factors such as attitude, fear of negative evaluation and stress level for academic expectations predict students’ mathematics achievements. In this quantitative study a prediction research design, type of correlational design, was used to anticipate results by using particular variables as predictors. The study was conducted on 352 middle school students attending a middle school in Bursa. Students’ mathematics scores, Mathematics Attitude Scale (MAS), Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale Short Form (FNES) and Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI) were used for data collection. In order to determine participants’ level of attitude toward mathematics, fear of negative evaluation and stress level for academic expectations descriptive statistics were used. Secondly to compare participants’ score on three measurements according to their gender, class level, and mathematics scores, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed. According to results gender did not make a significant difference on mathematics attitude, fear of negative evaluation and stress level separately, as well. Class level increases, students’ positive attitudes towards mathematics decreases. Students with high mathematics scores had significantly more positive feelings towards mathematics than students with low mathematics scores. The results of correlation analysis indicated that mathematics success was significantly and positively associated to mathematics attitude while it was significantly and negatively associated to fear of negative evaluation and stress for academic expectations.