CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Mathematics is a fundamental part of school curriculum as a subject and acts as a tool for the

development of other sciences. Mathematics is essential in every facet of life as numeracy skills become

a requirement to function effectively in daily life (Gafoor and Kurukkan, 2015). Mathematics stimulates

involvement and success in many careers especially those in the fields of Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics. Following research findings that mathematics as a subject is poorly

performed the following factors are attributed to the same; inadequacy of resources and teaching

personnel, anxiety and fear of Mathematics, poor teaching methods, overcrowded classrooms and

mathematics attitude of students (Ferguson et al., 2015).

Ashcraft (2002) reported that students show a severe negative emotional response in situations

that involve numerical and mathematical activities, a situation referred to as Math anxiety (Ruff and

Boes, 2014). Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of fear and tension towards mathematics which can result

to an individual’s inability to do mathematics. It is therefore vital to detect math anxiety in children to

prevent them from developing an avoidance of mathematics which might bring about lasting effects

(Aarnos and Perkkilä, 2012). The levels of anxiety can either be of high, moderate or low.

Low/moderate levels result in students focusing on mathematics computations and problem solving,
while high levels result in much tension which prevents the students from participating in the

mathematical task ahead.

Haladyna et al. (1983) termed mathematics attitude as either a positive or negative feeling or

expression towards mathematics. Zan and Martino (2009) identify three dimensions within attitude

towards mathematics: emotional disposition, vision of mathematics, and perceived competence. This

implies that Mathematics attitude is a feeling of like or dislike for mathematics (Zan and Martino, 2009;

Haladyna et al., 1983). Mathematics attitude can either be positive or negative. Positive mathematics

attitude enables the students to be focused on mathematics computations and problem solving; negative

attitude diverts the students’ mind from concentrating on mathematics computation and solving

problems. They look at mathematics as challenging. Studies show a relationship between mathematics

anxiety and attitude and the two variables influence mathematics performances.

Students’ performance in mathematics is influenced by Mathematics anxiety, Mathematics

attitude, inadequate learning and teaching resources, strategies and the teaching and learning

environments (Oyugi, 2018; Ndinda, 2016; Githaiga, 2019). Mathematics anxiety and Mathematics

attitude are caused by environmental factors (Shaikh, 2013). Environmental factors are associated with

the surrounding where students learn mathematics. Environment can influence students’ attitude towards

mathematics or cause anxiety. Students need conducive environment to learn mathematics.

Instructional methodologies that are used for teaching embrace a key role in children’s ambitions to

pursuing future career choices related to mathematics. The old teaching practices such as expectations

on correct answers, fear of making errors, and rote calculations and memorizations are said to be the
contributing factors to students’ anxiety and attitude towards mathematics in basic classrooms

(Haciömeroğlu, 2017). According to Yeo et al. (2015), teachers can influence Mathematics attitude and

anxieties in students. The teacher's mode of introducing a concept to students plays a great role in a

students' performance. If a teacher uses difficult terms to teach the students, this may disengage the

students causing Mathematics anxiety. Teachers should avoid increasing the anxiety levels of

Mathematics in students.

The students’ attitude towards mathematics and anxiety can be promoted by their own family

background factors in connection to Mathematics. A study carried out in India by Soni and Kumari

(2017) asserts that parental Mathematics anxiety and attitude may lead to mathematics anxiety and

influence students’ attitude towards mathematics. When parents' anxiety is high that of their children

increases especially if they help them to do their homework. This is because parents express to their own

children their own dislike and frustration with Mathematics. According to Maloney et al. (2015), attitude

can be transmitted socially to students during early learning.

Mathematics is nothing except the abstract language, and the collection of numbers (Waller et al,

2016). There is increased recognition of affective factors that play a key role in mathematics in

education and learning. From many factors' worth considering, one affective aspect is "It has probably

received more attention than any other domain that is in the affective domain" i.e., anxiety towards

mathematics (Marban et al., 2020). The idea of mathematical anxiety has been getting more and more

attention in recent years by many researchers (Ardi et al, 2019; Trigueros et al, 2020).
 This feeling is unpleasant, fixed towards the future, and is a proportion of the threat. Its special

characteristics are uncertainties and unfavorable feelings of danger (Lawrence et al, 2019). Mathematics

anxiety is often mentioned such as" the common lack of relief that someone might experience when

required for the performance (Shabbir et al., 2020). However, mathematical anxiety has a significant

impact on the academic achievement of students.

2.2 Standards of Mathematics

Mathematics subjects consist of five standards such as numbers and operations, algebra,

measurement and geometry, information handling, reasoning, and logical thinking. These all are

standards for the grade I to XII. For mathematics teachers' role has been switched from "dispensing

information" to many others such as planning investigation tasks, managing cooperative learning

environments, and supporting or auxiliary students' creativity in developing a rational understanding of

the concepts of mathematics (ISLAMABAD, 2006).

Thompson (1984); Ernest (1988) claimed that every attempt to improve the worth of

mathematics learning and teaching should begin with an understanding of the conceptions detained by

teachers (Amirali & Halai, 2010). Therefore, it can be extracted that there is the main role of the teacher

to give mathematical knowledge to the students.

The national curriculum of Pakistan wants to bring its readers a higher-order thinking approach

and it will be possible when teachers help students in their cognitive level. However, Math anxiety is
characterized by stressful and anxious feelings that interfere with dealing with numbers and adversely

affect student's ability to take a basic math course or take advanced math (Grays et al., 2017, p. 180).

2.3 Mathematical Anxiety

Mathematical anxiety is often described as a feeling of tension, fear, or fear that interferes with

the practice of mathematics. It is well established that there is a moderately negative connection between

math anxiety and math performance (Morsanyi et al, 2019).

In addition to this, the concept of mathematical anxiety is not new, it was identified in the late

1950s but it was introduced as the "number anxiety" and showed that it was different and separate from

common anxiety. On one side, mathematics anxiety is known as the feeling of tension, feeling of fear,

and the feeling of worry that some students experience during the study and integration of mathematics

contents (Powell et al., 2019).

For this concern some scholars Lazarides & Buchholz (2019) mentioned, Students, will need to

control this type of anxiety and focus on their academic performance, mathematics, and wellbeing. On

the other side, Mathematics assessment is also a rote to build anxiety that may be defined as anxiety that

may be arising from tests and other performance tests or assessments in mathematics (Everingham et al.,

2017). Whereas, this anxiety may develop from early years of study (Lu et al, 2019).

Majority of the people in the world hate the four-letter word, MATH, they don’t like it and feel that they

are not good at it”, Yang (2014). He described it as “People who feel tension, apprehension and fear of
situations involving math might have anxiety in the subject. Anxiety in Mathematics is easy to describe.

This is manifested through the feelings of discomfort and nuisance that some individuals may encounter

when having problems mathematics learning.

“Feelings of tension, apprehension and fright that disturbed the usual manipulation of number and the

solving of mathematical problems”, Ashcraft & Faust, (2000). In many forms of anxiety, students have

the feeling that their hearts beat fast, they may believe that they cannot complete mathematical problems

or may avoid taking math courses, Sheffield & Hunt, (2006). Anxiety of the students in response to

mathematics is important concern for teachers and many stakeholders in perception that high anxiety

may connected to fear in the subject, Anderson (2007). Mathematics is a significant course in school

curriculum. Young age children must learn the basic foundations of the subject which is useful in

functioning well in their everyday lives, Lebens, Graff & Mayer, (2011). Mathematics is taught so that

students can understand the numerical data presented to them and able to solve simple mathematics

computations in a day to day living. It is a belief among children that mathematics subject is a difficult

to learn. In mathematics education, plenty of researchers endorse innovative ways of teaching, linking

concept and real- life applications and motivating the students to have interest in mathematics,

Hemmings, Grootenboer & Kay, (2011). Therefore, in order to meet students’ needs and thirst for

mathematics, effective teaching pedagogy must be applied in the classroom.

However, in the study of Dagaylo-an & Tancinco (2016) concluded that the teaching approach used by

the teachers in Mathematics has nothing to do with the Math anxiety of the students.Furthermore, they
concluded that there is no significant relationship between the level of mathematics anxiety and the

mathematics performance of the students.

Mathematics Anxiety is a reality that humanity is currently exposed to, research indicates

that almost one out of every five students is not comfortable with mathematics tasks (Eden, Heine, &

Jacobs, 2013). This non conformability often leads to a situation where these students start avoiding

mathematics and related tasks, hence their avoidance attitude becomes hindrance in their professional

growth and later impacting the overall society.

Recently Roggenbuck et al., (2020), whilst exploring the literature on Mathematics anxiety in

STEM and social science students, described it as “feelings of panic and helplessness when

asked to solve a mathematical task or problem”. Borrowing wisdom from literature they pointed

several reasons which they considered as the reason of development of this anxiety. To them these are

the result of pedagogy or use of subject of Mathematics as a tool to punish which in a way results in

creating an extreme negative challenge.(Jolejole-caube & Abejo, 2019).Further they discussed

three categories of mathematical anxiety which are “mathematics test anxiety, numerical anxiety, and

abstraction anxiety”.

2.4 Background of the Study

After years of researches, it is still not clear if math anxiety is the result of students’ poor

mathematical performance or vice versa. Many students in higher classes could be dealing with math
anxiety because of a bad mathematical experience or a poor mathematical performance at early ages, or

because they lack of a decent mathematical knowledge that serves them when they need it. According to

the Debilitating Anxiety Theory, developed in 1990 by Ray Hembree, math anxiety can negatively affect

students’ engagement and attitude towards mathematical tasks, acquirement of mathematical

information, processes of problem solving, understanding of definitions and concepts and construction

of knowledge. In addition, unlike those who deal with lower rates of math anxiety, people who suffer

from higher rates perform poorly in their exams because they tend to answer quickly and finish their

exam as fast as possible without checking the accuracy of their answers. Such reality suggests that those

who suffer from high rates of math anxiety are unable of processing the mathematical task on hand and

understanding the math concepts and definitions properly (Sharma, 2017).

During the past decades anxiety has been a critical and a significant topic to examine in humans

studies. The relationship between anxiety and students’ academic performance “short term

achievements”, through their test grades, is widely recognized in literature as many studies have

approached and concluded its existence(Kumar & Karimi, 2010; Lyons & Beilock, 2012).The negative

effect of anxiety on student’s performance, through their grades is increasing year after year(Nuffielf

Foundation, 2017). Concerning mathematics, anxiety originates from the nature of the material itself

since it is a multi-systematic process. Sometimes the social vision of mathematics, as a highly

complicated material, may create high negative effect during the classroom sessions and mainly during

the timed exams (Young, Wu, & Menon, 2012).

 Some researchers indicated that poor math skills negatively affect students’ anxiety during timed

exams, and others clarified that higher math anxiety is mostly associated to lower achievers. More

importantly, high level of anxiety can create anxious memory, which in turn, directly affects students

‘long and short term accomplishments in mathematics and other subject materials (Buckley, 2013).

2.5 Reasons of Mathematics Anxiety

Taking the debate to a higher level Aarnos & Perkkilä (2012)described three causes for

mathematics anxiety which are “environmental, personal, and cognitive”. They explained that

when the challenge arises a result when student expresses lack of ease with the teacher or class

then this lies in the domain of environment. Whereas when there are issues of fear of ill

experiences they represents personal (causes). Lastly when “intelligence” or the skills set of the

student is not up to the level where the grasping subject basis cannot be achieved, falls in the

domain of cognitive cause.

Many students have heard the common saying that math is for boys and it can have serious

consequences for girls who are interested in math. For this Zhang et al (2019) highlighted that many

female students have more mathematical anxiety than males. Although math anxiety can occur at an

early age, many students are beginning to feel the great pressure to perform well in class when in middle

school.

However, Pollio & Hochbein (2015) highlighted that secondary and middle school students have

fear of participating in extracurricular activities, lose scholarship opportunities, or not being accepted at
a tertiary institution. Further, these high-stress pressures can cause greater anxiety in math classrooms,

where many students feel anxious about complex calculations and equations. Mathematic anxiety had a

negative impact on the achievement of students. Not one but many authors in the field of education and

psychology have talked about this, including Holmes & Hwang, (2016); Guita et al., (2018); Choi-Koh

et al., (2019) found that working collaborations and learning strategies can reduce students 'math stress

and, as a result, impact their academic performance.

According to (Royse & Rompf, 2017),the students who do social work have more math

anxiety as compared to other non-statistics or non-social students; as non-traditional

students are not required to fulfill the requirements as is required from the high school or

students pursuing to a higher educational level. They also suggested in their study that with

the communication and the delivery mechanism the instructor can somehow minimize the

anxiety in students towards math and they can learn to manage and confidently take attempt to

solve math critical calculations. Secret, Ford, & Rompf (2014)found that students with less

statistical knowledge find it difficult to go with the quantitative or calculation based

research study. They’re reluctant towards perceiving these kinds of studies which result in math’s

anxiety. This negative attitude towards math is one of the major barriers towards learning. Mathematics

anxiety is a well-known and well recognized term and somehow a measure of students’ performance.

Students with mathematics anxiety are less motivated and less confident which at the end

result in poor performance. Hoe, Jenifer, Rozek, Berman, & Beilock (2019)noted that math’s
anxiety is a negative feeling towards math’s which often leads to avoiding the subject. This

avoidance is visible as the Individuals having math anxiety are the one who avoid math’s

especially taking fewer math related courses.

Math anxiety creates the attitude of avoidance in students and this makes them reluctant

towards taking risk in pursuing any course that involves maths. Punaro and Reeve, (2012, in their study

found that people show much more anxiety, stress and other negative attitudes towards math’s as

compared to other academic subjects. This nervousness, confusion, and avoidance results in lower

student performance (Wahid & Razaq, 2013).

Shakmaeva (2022) argued that the standard of mathematics education provided in a nation had a

significant impact on that nation’s technological and scientific advancement. He goes on to say that a

nation’s failure to develop its mathematics will result in failure in all other areas of growth.

In addition, Fatawu and Offei (2022) said that the entire globe rests its hopes on technology, that

everything about technology is mathematics and that mathematics education is the bedrock and key tool

for global advancement in science, innovation, and industry. Mathematical understanding can be applied

to many different fields and languages, and it provides a general framework for a number of fields,

particularly astrology, engineering, and mechanics. Poorghorban et al. (2018) believe that as

mathematics is the foundation of technology and the world is founded on technology, good mathematics

achievement and education should be highly valued. Moreso, Vargas (2021) believes that because
mathematics is the basis for science and technology, it is essential for success in today’s modern world

and for overcoming the obstacles of daily life.

Estonanto (2018) argues that the rise of a nation’s economy can also be predicted by

mathematics, according to studies. He argues that in terms of economic growth, nations with high

mathematics achievement rates outperform those with low mathematics achievement rates. Due to the

emphasis they placed on mathematical education, nations like Singapore, Japan, China, and the United

States were seen as being among the most economically developed in the world. Businesses

increasingly look for graduates who can come up with new solutions to problems, overcome obstacles,

etc. According to some, only mathematics can satisfy commercial demands (Serim, 2022). Numerous

fields in higher education have been designated as requiring a strong foundation in mathematics, and one

is likely to be refused the chance to study those subjects if their math grade is insufficient.

Despite the importance of mathematics, as previously indicated, worldwide mathematics

performance has not been good (Fokuo et al., 2022). A major obstacle and one of the main reasons why

most people in Africa stop their education after secondary school is that the majority of African nations

performed below average or average in both basic and secondary school mathematics. This lowers the

number of exceptional students who may pursue math degrees at universities (Brezavšček et al., 2020).

When compared to other grades with a general indefinite trend of performance, senior high graduates’

performance in mathematics at the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE),

which served as a benchmark of achievement at the senior high school level, is characterised by a high
percentage of candidates receiving a grade F9 (fail). This percentage has remained largely stable over

the years (Abreh et al., 2018).

Considering the situation in Ghana, Bruce (2016) published a startling statistic, quoting 813,790

students who graduated from high school between 2006 and 2013 but were denied entry to university

education because they received a D7 or lower in mathematics. Furthermore, a recent study by Ansah et

al. (2020), after a five-year review of SHS students’ math performance (WASSCE) from 2013 to 2017,

revealed that more than half of those who sat the test during that time period could not earn the grade of

C6 or above in mathematics, which is necessary for entrance to universities and institutions. This

prevented many talented young Ghanaians from following their hearts’ desires. Results from the

Northern Region are worst compared to the national average, and this calls for further research to reveal

the causes.

Numerous investigators have found it crucial to look into the factors that result in this poor

performance in order to draw attention to these factors so that measures could be put in place to if not

stop but reduce the canker as poor math achievement has an impact on many aspects of humanity,

specifically the life. This is because low mathematical success or poor achievement in mathematics of

students around the world, particularly in Ghana, has caused public outcry (Akinoso, 2020).

Several studies have looked at the determinants of poor performance in mathematics (Ayebale et

al., 2020; Senajonon, 2013). For instance, Ayebale et al. (2020) listed a number of significant factors

that influence students’ math performance, including the classroom environment, the teachers’ attitudes,

and the students’ attitudes toward mathematics, the student’s prior arithmetic proficiency, and gender-
related features. One could classify gender-related and earlier math experiences as personal factors.

Evidence that arithmetic anxiety plays a significant influence on children’s low academic performance

in math is beginning to emerge. Due to the increased understanding that mathematics plays a East

African Journal of Education Studies, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2023

significant role in students’ understanding of the topic, mathematics instructors are more aware of the

students’ fear of mathematics as a crucial component in the mathematical learning environment

(Senajonon, 2013). Numerous studies show that many students experience some level of math anxiety

and that this worry appears to be a major factor in mathematics success.

Uludag (2022) said that the success of students is greatly affected by math anxiety, and those

who struggle with mathematics anxiety are less likely to succeed in careers in science, technology,

engineering, and other mathematics-related fields. Even six-year-old students experience math anxiety.

According to Bedetti and Elisei (2019), Over 30% of secondary school students from Organization for

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries report experiencing stress and anxiety

while working on math problems and homework, and 59% reportedly worry that they will struggle with

the subject. This suggests that math anxiety is a widespread problem that needs to be addressed among

secondary school pupils. The majority of this research comes from developed economies; thus, it might

not apply to countries with limited resources like Ghana. Many studies identified math anxiety as a

cause for low performance in mathematics as these students usually show strong disapproval, full

avoidance, or enormous detrimental nervousness when asked to perform calculations, and this may

lower their interest which will eventually affect their frequency in engaging in mathematics.

Anxiety in math was first described in 1954 by Gough as “Mathema phobia” (Clarke, 2021)Fokuo et al.

(2022) reported that students typically experience mathematical anxiety in school, which results in the

development of negative attitudes toward the subject and poor performance in math classes. Kelly et al.

(2022) projected that 93% of the total citizens of the United state of America of all ages experience
some level of math anxiety, which can range from mathematical inference activities like stabilising a

ledger to reviewing a quantifiable scientific study, analysing and making meaning out of a voting result,

or making judgments about whether informative attached broadcast news may be factually inaccurate

etc. Because of the growing concern over math anxiety being a cause of low performance, numerous

schools and institutions in the developed world have now started to provide math anxiety development

courses in an effort to help students overcome their math anxiety to improve performance (Napier,

2017).

Numerous studies have shown that a learner’s anxiety about mathematics has a significant

impact on his or her success in academia and career selection in the future or serves as an obstacle to the

learning of mathematics. For instance, Appiah Essuman et al. (2021) demonstrated that mathematics

anxiousness lowers achievement and has a long-lasting detrimental repercussion on academic

performance.

If this barrier fails to be eliminated, it could lead to subpar mathematical performance as well as a lack

of interest in the subject. In order to establish a basis for the subsequent course of action, it is imperative

to take action as soon as it is practical to ascertain whether mathematics anxiety has any relationship to

academic performance.

The senior high school stage is a critical period in a student’s academic journey, where the foundations

of various subjects, including mathematics, are further developed and solidified. At this stage, students

face increasing academic demands and expectations, and their attitudes and perceptions toward

mathematics can significantly impact their performance in the subject.

2.6 Relationship between Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Attitude

Mathematics anxiety may influence mathematics attitude towards mathematics problems directly or

indirectly (Kargar et al., 2010), where students develop avoidance behaviors towards mathematics. First,

mathematics anxious students may avoid mathematics courses or subjects dealing with mathematical

tasks and this may mean that these students do not gain competence or mastery of mathematics

operations. Second, mathematics anxiety may influence mathematics attitude. Math's anxious students

may attempt to evade particular classes and their anxiety may directly affect their ability to successfully

complete math's problems (Plaisance, 2009).

Students who achieve a positive mathematics attitude can solve all mathematics problems provided that

they have low level of mathematics anxiety. Akin and Kurbanoglu (2011) postulated that there is a

negative link between math anxiety and positive attitudes. Math anxiety is related to insights of one’s

own mathematical abilities in relation to skills in other subject areas and with negative math attitudes.

Simply, negative attitudes have negative results in mathematics thus generating math anxiety (Vinson,

2001). Also, when one takes math anxiety as a state of uneasiness which occurs in response to situations

involving mathematical tasks which can often create a negative attitude toward the subject (Zettle and

Raines, 2002), the relationships between math anxiety and math attitudes are easily understandable. That

means that negative math attitudes promoted mathematics anxiety to be high while positive attitude

decreased mathematics anxiety (Akin and

Kurbanoglu, 2011). Chaman and Callingham (2013) posited that there is a relationship between

mathematics anxiety and mathematics attitude.

Research in Kenya has shown that students had negative attitude towards mathematics (Githaiga, 2019).

This is further supported by Ndinda (2016) who posited that poor attitudes towards mathematics lead to

poor performance (Oyugi, 2018). Further, consistent failure in Mathematics is attributed to students’

attitudes towards Mathematics as a subject (Manoah et al., 2011; Nui and Wahome, 2006). There existed

a correlation between anxiety levels and academic achievement; high anxiety resulted in poor academic

results while moderate levels of anxiety resulted in high academic results recorded in Mathematics by

the students (Syokwaa et al., 2014). This shows that both Mathematics anxiety and attitude affect the

performances in Mathematics, though attitude is directly proportional to achievement while anxiety is

indirectly proportional (Mweni, 2015).

2.7 Relationship between Mathematics Anxiety and Performance

Mathematics anxiety has been found to make students avoid Mathematics lessons resulting in poor

performance in mathematics (Buckley et al., 2016). Individual and environment factors contribute to

Mathematics anxiety leading to poor performance (Chang and Beilock, 2016). Individual factors may be

the memory coordination while solving mathematical problems and again how one is motivated to

undertake the problem at hand. Environmental factors that stimulate Mathematics anxiety include

students’ perception about the classroom environment, parental support and also teachers’ classroom

activities. The reasons for avoidance are often associated with fears and worries about their abilities to
pass Mathematics (Maloney and Beilock, 2015). These fears result in difficulties in basic numerical

processing and low performance in courses related to numerical reasoning (Núñez-Peña et al., 2013;

Maloney et al., 2011). These difficulties brought by avoidance of Mathematics therefore may result in

Mathematics anxiety together with poor performance in Mathematics.

Radišić et al. (2015) provide an evidence that students displaying high Mathematics anxiety symptoms

score low marks; the lower level of Mathematics anxiety has been associated with the achievement and

interest in Mathematics, and high Mathematics self-concept. This is because high anxiety results in less

achievement in the performance of mathematical related problems (Ifamuyima and Rosanwo, 2016).

They further argue that when the students have moderate anxiety they settle down and face the task at

hand; and this results in better outcome in mathematics content and performance.

Moderate level of Mathematics anxiety is linked to achievement and interest in Mathematics, high

Mathematics self-concept, and conducive school and

classroom atmosphere. Again the atmosphere in which the learning takes place is essential for students’

Mathematics anxiety determination. Similarly, a study carried out in the Netherlands by Macher et al.

(2012) postulates that Mathematics anxiety holds a crucial role in Mathematics performance. When

students become anxious Mathematics performances becomes low compared to students with moderate

levels of anxiety. Mathematics anxious students feel stressed and worried about carrying out simple

mathematics tasks and they usually perform poorly in Mathematics (Bekdemir, 2010).

The relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance can be linked to arousal performance

theory by Yerkes and Dodson (1908). In their theory, they posits that; ‘if arousal increases, performance
will also increase but if arousal becomes too great and continuous then performance would deteriorate’.

The theory has two assumptions namely; increase in arousal results in decrease in performance and

moderate arousal results in optimal performance. During the onset of arousal, a student is confident to

have the ability to control the arousal pressure and this may increase his performance. Once the arousal

becomes so great the student would start to become less confident on the ability to control the pressure

and the performance would drop. For good performance, there is a need for little arousal. The arousal

can be linked to a task that can influence anxiety levels. If there is no arousal then there is no anxiety

which allows respondents to be relaxed and not engage in any Mathematics task resulting to poor

performance. When the anxiety is mild or moderate the respondents enjoy the ability to control it and

work towards the Mathematics task. This results in high performance; when the anxiety is very high

then the respondents’ performance is threatened since they cannot deal with the high anxiety together

with the task.

There is a relationship between mathematic anxiety and mathematical performance (Syokwaa et al.,

2014). Further, there exists a correlation between anxiety levels and academic achievement; high anxiety

leads to poor academic results while moderate levels of anxiety lead to high academic results. High

anxiety affects students’ ability to perform effectively in Mathematics.

2,8 Academic Achievements in Mathematics

 Mathematics needs not to be stressing, even if it is not easy as perceived by majority, this can

still be appreciated. Enjoyment of the subject relies on its meaningfulness and dynamics of concept

illustrated. It is the essential role of the teachers to guide and direct the students on getting knowledge,

thus right ground on methods, strategies and techniques must be considered in giving a comprehensive

environment which causes to arouse the interest and challenge the students to the higher level of

learning mathematical (Generalao, 2012).

According to Nambatac, (2011), among the 41 participant countries, Filipinos performed poorly

in Mathematics. Moreover, it is reported that Filipino students have poor performance in Science and

Mathematics subjects. In fact, the National Mean Percentage Score in Math on 2012 was only 48.90

which is described as below the national standard and the it is among the lowest in the five subjects in

the National Achievement Test (NETRC, 2012).

Moreover, the study of (Pagtulon- an and Tan, 2018) states that students perform poorly in

mathematics as reflected in their scores. Additionally, its findings are expected due to insufficient basic

foundation or they don’t have a strong foundation of the concepts. Hence, it is believed that majority of

students feel tiresome to learn mathematics. Thus, it a big responsibility of the teachers to earn couple of

solutions in coping these problems in the classroom. One of these, the teacher must incorporate

cooperative learning in the class. Hence, it is important for teachers to be sensitive to students’

understanding and misconceptions and determine their learning gaps in mathematics. Principles and

Standards for School Mathematics of NCTM (2000) acknowledge that there are significant challenges in
meeting the vision for enhancing mathematics education. The vision calls for involvement of teachers,

school administrators, institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, parents, students and

Other stakeholders. The combined efforts of the groups might result to brighter hope in the fulfillment of

the vision and developing shared commitment in terms of improvement of mathematics instruction in

the Philippines.

Moreover, Horario, as cited by Andamon (2015), that mathematics is the second most difficult subject in

both elementary and high school level. Thus, Senator Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on

Education, Arts and Culture stressed the insufficiency of competence and skills in mathematics, science

and technology which are the major causes of the country’s poverty and distress.