A Study On The Relationship Between Mathematics Gender Stereotypes And Mathematics Anxiety Among Junior High School Students

Math anxiety is a kind of uneasiness and tension when people are thinking about mathematical problems or completing mathematical tasks.Math anxiety has been of high concern to many educators for decades.Studies have shown that students with high math anxiety have low interest in math learning,and their math scores are not ideal.Mathematics has a profound influence on individual development,so it is of great significance to explore the causes and influencing factors of math anxiety.In daily life,receiving negative information about oneself makes people feel less confident and anxious.This study will analyze the relationship between math gender stereotype and math anxiety.In the first study,404 students from Grade 1 to Grade 3 were investigated by using the math gender stereotype questionnaire,math self-efficacy scale,math anxiety scale and math self-concept scale to investigate the gender and grade difference of math stereotype and math self-belief among junior middle school students.This paper explores the relationship among gender stereotype,math self-efficacy,math self-concept and math anxiety.The results shows:(1)There is no grade difference in math anxiety,boys' math anxiety is lower than girls'.The math self-efficacy of male students is higher than that of female students.The grade difference of math self-concept is significant,and the girls' math self-concept is lower.There is significant difference in gender stereotype among different grades,and boys have higher stereotype.(2)Boys' math anxiety is lower than girls',while boys' math self-efficacy,gender stereotype and math self-concept are higher than girls'.(3)Math anxiety is positively correlated with gender stereotype,but negatively correlated with math self-efficacy and math self-concept.Gender stereotype is negatively correlated with math self-efficacy and math self-concept.Math self-efficacy is positively correlated with math self-concept.(4)Math self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between gender stereotype and math anxiety,and math self-concept plays a moderating role in the relationship between gender stereotype and math self-efficacy.A total of 481 students from Grade One and Grade Two were included in the second study.In order to analyze the influence of gender stereotype threat on math anxiety,the subjects were randomly divided into the experimental group(under stereotype threat)and the control group(without stereotype threat)under two experimental conditions.The results show that there is no significant difference in the influence of threat on boys' math anxiety level,but the girls' math anxiety level in the threat group is significantly higher than that in the non-threat group.Studies have shown that girls have higher level of math anxiety and are negatively affected by math stereotype.