The relationship of mathematics anxiety and achievement in an environment of sociological learning style preferences within a group of seventh-grade middle school student

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between mathematics anxiety and achievement in an environment that addressed their sociological learning style preferences within a group of seventh grade middle school students. Middle school students were measured on the following variables: mathematics anxiety, mathematics achievement, and sociological learning style preferences. Based on the research literature, a conceptual framework of mathematics anxiety and achievement was developed, and through a teaching methodology that was geared to students' sociological learning style preferences, a program of instruction was provided to students randomly selected for the experimental group while a control group received no instruction to individual sociological learning style preferences. A goal of this research was to determine mathematics anxiety's effect on mathematics achievement, and through the use of sociological learning style preferences to develop a plausible means which would adequately reduce mathematics anxiety and thereby influence students' abilities that would lead to an increase in mathematics achievement.;The results of the Pearson r showed that there was a significant relationship between student mathematics anxiety levels and their mathematics achievement. The results of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that there was not a significant relationship between mathematics anxiety and students' diagnosed learning style preferences for Total scores of the California Achievement Test. The results of the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) showed that there was no significant relationship between pre-achievement and post-achievement scores for the Computation section of the California Achievement Test; however, there was a significant relationship between pre-achievement and post-achievement scores for the Concepts & Applications section of the California Achievement Test. Further analysis showed significance of regression of both the Computation and Concepts & Applications sections of the California Achievement Test.;A further breakdown of individual scores of student performance and anxiety by percentage after instruction had been provided in their individual sociological learning style preferences showed an increase in performance and lowering of anxiety for the Self-Preference learning style students in the experimental group.