Mathematics anxiety and gender in the elementary school

Abstract

This paper discusses mathematics anxiety with students aged between six and nine years, considering the answers by gender. Twenty-six students of the second year of the elementary school participated in this study, with age range between six and nine years. The data were collected through a questionnaire adapted from the instrument of Valeski and Stipek (2001). The questionnaire applied to twenty-six students of the second year of elementary school, in Santana, municipality of the State of Amapá. Based on the statistical method, as discussed by Crespo (2002), the results were organized in relative frequencies and line graphs constructed in the Excel Software. Students did not express anxiety to mathematics when they answered the questionnaire. This result leads us to infer that their teachers’ teaching methods probably make math classes attractive in elementary school. Moreover, we did not identify discrepancies between the boys’ and girls’ responses to questionnaire that sought to verify the feelings about mathematics. The results reflect on the importance of family and teachers to encourage the development of student learning because there are several didactic situations and feelings present in mathematics teaching.