Investigating the Relationship Between Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Achievement of Primary School 4th Grade Students

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the mathematics anxiety of primary school fourth- grade students and their mathematics achievement and to determine the factors that create mathematics anxiety. Design/Methodology/Approach: Explanatory sequential design, one of the mixed-method designs, was employed in the study. The sample of the study consisted of 636 fourth-grade students studying at 14 schools in the central district of Erzincan in the 2018-2019 academic year and 27 students selected for semi-structured interviews. The data of the study were collected through the "Mathematics Anxiety Scale" and "Mathematics Anxiety Semi-Structured Interview Form" developed by the researcher. In the analysis of the data obtained within the scope of the research, descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), LSD test statistics, a pairwise comparison technique, Pearson moment multiplication correlation, multiple linear regression analysis and content analysis were used. Findings: When the results of the study were examined, it was found that primary school fourth-grade students' scores on the math anxiety exam dimension are high, there is no significant difference between the mean scores of mathematics anxiety in terms of gender variable, there is a negative relationship between the mathematics anxiety levels of students and their mathematics lesson achievement, and the mathematics anxiety level of the students predicts the mathematics lesson achievement. Highlights: It was determined that the factors that create the mathematics anxiety of primary school fourth-grade students are teacher-related, student-related, family and friend-related, lesson-related, and exam-related.