International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education Volume 3, Number 3, October 2008 www.iejme.com Copyright © 2008 by GOKKUSAGI ISSN: 1306-3030 MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AMONG 4 th AND 5 th GRADE TURKISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS Fulya Yüksel-Şahin ABSTRACT. Using a sample of 4 th and 5 th graders, this study investigated whether students’ mathematics anxiety differed significantly according to a group of variables. A total of 249 students participated in the study. “The Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Elementary School Students” and “The Personal Information Form” were used for data collection. Independent samples t-tests, Oneway Anova and Schefee test were used to analyze the data. Results showed that students’ mathematics anxiety differed significantly according to gender, whether they liked mathematics class or not, whether they liked their mathematics teachers or not and the achievement level in mathematics. Female students reported significantly higher mathematics anxiety than males. Students who liked mathematics class and those who liked their mathematics teachers had lower anxiety. Students with higher achievement in mathematics reported lower degrees of mathematics anxiety. However, results did not show any significant difference in students’ mathematics anxiety with respect to their grade level and gender-stereotypes about success in mathematics. KEYWORDS. Mathematics Anxiety. MATHEMATICS ANXIETY Despite its importance, in daily life, mathematics is often viewed as a difficult topic. Such perception is in part, due to the nature of math. However, it also has to do with preconceived notions about mathematics (Umay, 1996) and the anxiety individuals have for mathematics (Yüksel-Şahin, 2004). A remarkable body of research has been accumulated on mathematics anxiety since the 1960s. There have been a variety of definitions of what constitutes mathematics anxiety. Richardson and Suinn view it as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations (as cited in Gierl & Bisanz, 1995, p.140). Mathematics anxiety has to do with a sense of discomfort while required to work on mathematical problems (Hadfield & Trujillo, 1999; Ma, 2003) and with fear and apprehension to specific math-related situations (D’Ailly & Bergering, 1992).