The role of math anxiety in the relationship between approximate number system and math performance in young children

Although interest in mathematics anxiety in young children (6–11 years) has increased recently, the results of previous studies on the role of mathematics anxiety in the relationship between number sense and math performance are inconsistent. The study's main objective was to establish whether...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology in the schools 2023-04, Vol.60 (4), p.912-930
Main Authors: Sari, Mehmet Hayri, Szczygiel, Monika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Arithmetic
Children
Developmental aspects
Elementary School Students
Elementary schools
Fluency
Foreign Countries
Grade 3
Grade 4
math achievement
math anxiety
Mathematics
Mathematics Achievement
Mathematics Anxiety
Mental representation
Moderation
Number Concepts
number line estimations
number sense
Number Systems
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Summary:Although interest in mathematics anxiety in young children (6–11 years) has increased recently, the results of previous studies on the role of mathematics anxiety in the relationship between number sense and math performance are inconsistent. The study's main objective was to establish whether math anxiety is a mediator or a moderator in the relationship between number line estimation (NLE) and mathematical outcomes. A cross‐sectional, correlational design was used. A total of 234 Turkish public primary school children (third and fourth graders) participated in the study. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) math anxiety mediates the relationship between the approximate number system (ANS) (an easier and more difficult task of ANS) and math performance (math achievement and arithmetic fluency); (2) math anxiety moderates the relationship between ANS (an easier and more difficult task of ANS) and math performance (math achievement and arithmetic fluency). The results mostly suggest no mediation effect of math anxiety between NLE and math performance in young children. The results also suggest that increases in difficulty level in NLE (increases of errors in NLE) is related to more anxiety regarding mathematics. Furthermore, moderation analyses indicated that the acuity of mental representation of numbers in high math‐anxious children is a key factor contributing to math performance. Developmental aspects of the obtained results are also discussed in the paper. Practitioner points Increases in difficulty level in number line estimation (NLE) is related to more math anxiety No mediation effect of math anxiety between NLE and math performance in young children was observed The acuity of mental representation of numbers in high math‐anxious children is a key factor contributing to math performance
ISSN:0033-3085
1520-6807
DOI:10.1002/pits.22794