THE MATHEMATICS ANXIETIES AND ATTITUDES OF URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between teachers' attitudes towards mathematics and teachers' anxiety levels towards mathematics. This question had two corollary sub-sections: the relationship between mathematics attitude and selected variables (the number of completed pre-baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate mathematics courses, years of teaching experience, mathematics achievement, sex, age, teaching level, undergraduate setting, college major and license area) and the relationship between mathematics anxiety and the same selected variables.;The sample consisted of 247 New York City public school teachers. Descriptive data was supplied by the use of an author-developed demographic survey. Mathematics attitude was measured by the Aiken and Dreger Revised Math Attitude Scale and mathematics anxiety was measured by the Suinn and Richardson Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale. As both of these instruments use ordinal rankings, non-parametric statistical procedures were required. These tests included Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks, and Mann-Whitney U Test.;The major operationalized hypothesis, "There would be a significant negative relationship between teachers' scores on the Revised Math Attitude Scale and the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale" was supported (r = -.7698, p < .05). However, this relationship was not as strong as might have been supposed a priori: the coefficient of determination was only .59.;Significant positive relationships were found between mathematics attitudes and the number of completed mathematics courses; mathematics attitude and mathematics achievement; mathematics attitude and teaching level; mathematics attitude and college major; mathematics anxiety and the number of completed mathematics courses; mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement and mathematics anxiety and sex; and mathematics anxiety and teaching experience.;A profile was developed that should discriminate among teachers who possess different attitudes towards mathematics and exhibit different levels of mathematics anxiety.