Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Mathematics Teaching Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The purpose of this multiple methods study was to investigate whether elementary mathematics teachers’ mathematics anxiety and/or mathematical efficacy predict their mathematical teaching efficacy. The study included 51 practicing elementary mathematics teachers in first through sixth grade. The teachers completed the Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument. From the survey results, four teachers, two that scored low anxiety and two that scored high efficacy, were selected to participate in classroom observations and semi structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using hierarchical regression. The results were paradoxical. The R2 change indicated that mathematics anxiety and mathematics self-efficacy were both good predictors of mathematical teaching self-efficacy. However, the standardized coefficients were not statistically significant. The findings of the qualitative data suggest that elementary mathematics teachers with low anxiety and high mathematics self-efficacy do not consistently use best practices in mathematics instruction and prefer to use more traditional strategies during mathematics instruction.