Presentation by Osvaldo Cantun and Priscilla Lopez Ed.D. at the 2nd Belize National Research Conference, 2019.

Abstract 

This research examined relationship between Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Self Efficacy among Junior College students in Belize Central America. The convenience sample of sixty-seven (67) included 6 who were majoring in Mathematics, 30 in Information Technology and 31 in Agribusiness. The data collection instrument included a modified version of the Math Self Efficacy and Anxiety Questionnaire (MSEAQ) by May (2009). One Way Anova test alpha of 0.05 was used to identify significance difference among the scores of Math Self Efficacy and Math Anxiety independently. A p-value of 0.108 revealed no significance difference among the three groups of students in their Math Self Efficacy scores. The scores of Math Anxiety and Math Self Efficacy were compared for difference using an Independent T-test (alpha 0.05) and Pearson Moment Correlation test (alpha 0.05) was used to find the existence of a possible relationship between the two. A p-value of 0.00023 obtained from the T-test indicated a significance difference between Math Anxiety and Math Self Efficacy which revealed that mathematics is therefore having different effects on Math Anxiety and Math Self Efficacy among Junior College students. A Pearson r value of -0.779 from the Pearson Moment Correlation test illustrated negative correlation between Math Anxiety and Math Self Efficacy scores. A p-value of 7.99E-15 indicate that the higher the Math Anxiety, the lower the Math Self Efficacy. The opposite is also true, the higher the Math Self Efficacy, the lower the Math Anxiety. These findings suggest that teachers are very influential in both Math Anxiety and Math Self Efficacy.

Key words: mathematics anxiety, education, tertiary level education