RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE AMONG SECONDARY STUDENTS IN ZARIA EDUCATION ZONE, KADUNA STATE.

Abstract

This study was embarked upon to find the relationship between mathematics anxiety and academic performance of senior secondary students in Zaria education zone, Kaduna state. One-shot survey research design was used for the data collection and analysis. A sample of 365 students involving 273 males and 92 females were randomly selected from a population of 5952 senior secondary students in the zone. A 30-item Mathematics Performance Test (MPT) instrument was developed with evidence of content validity and reliability of .62 and a 20-item Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS) was adopted with adequate validity and reliability of .90. These instruments were used for data collection. Three research questions were raised and three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of significance. The results from the quantitative study showed that there was statistically significant negative correlation between mathematics anxiety and academic performance (r= -.268, p< .05). It was also discovered that non-anxious students performed significantly better (M = 11.07, S.D = 5.36) than the anxious students (M=8.9, S.D = 3.95), t(363)=4.42, p< .05. Lastly, there was no significant difference between male (M = 59.55, S.D = 16.36) and female (M= 60.51, S.D = 14.69) students anxiety level t(363)= 4.89, p>.05. It was recommended that mathematics anxiety and be given more attention by the curriculum planners in Zaria education zone.