Math anxiety and math achievement among Palestinian primary school-aged children: Gender differences in association with parents’ math gender stereotypes
Math anxiety and math achievement among Palestinian primary school-aged children: Gender differences in association with parents’ math gender stereotypes

Summary/Abstract: Since Mathematics is a compulsory discipline in the primary cycle and a large body of studies reported higher levels of math anxiety compared with another disciplines. The present research aims to find some possible explanations for this phenomenon by exploring the levels of math anxiety, math achievements, and gender differences among Palestinian children next to their parents’ math gender stereotypes. It also examines the potential relationship between parents’ math gender stereotypes and both children’s math anxiety and children’s math achievements. Our sample consisted of 230 students in the 3rd and 4th grades (Mean age = 8.9; SD =.59), including one parent of each child. The Scale for Early Math Anxiety (SEMA) and The Gender Stereotype Scale toward Mathematics were used for data collection. Our results confirmed significant differences in math stereotypes as a function of child gender, in addition to significant gender differences in children’s math anxiety. Thus, girls reported higher levels of math anxiety, while no significant gender differences were found in children’s math achievements. Also, no significant association was found between parents’ math gender stereotypes and children’s math anxiety and achievements.

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