The relationship between high school students' mathematical competence expectancy and mathematics anxiety: A mixed method study

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the mathematical competence expectations and mathematical anxiety of 9th, 10th, and 11th grade high school students and to reveal the factors affecting mathematical anxiety through face-to-face interviews. In this regard, a mixed research method was adopted in the study; a sequential explanatory design was used. The sample for the quantitative part of the study consists of a total of 254 students who are enrolled in three different types of high schools (imam hatip high school, Anatolian high school, and multi-programme high school) in the Pozantı district of Adana province during the 2024-2025 academic year, selected through convenient sampling. Based on the quantitative findings obtained in the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four students identified as having high levels of mathematics anxiety using a purposive sampling method. Two different scales were used as data collection tools in the study. The Mathematics Competence Expectancy Informative Sources Scale was used to evaluate information sources related to mathematics competence expectations, while the Mathematics Anxiety Scale was used to determine students' anxiety levels towards mathematics lessons. In addition, a Personal Information Form created by the researcher was included in the data collection tool to enable the analysis of data according to the demographic characteristics of the participants. T-tests, Pearson correlation analyses, ANOVA analyses, and content analysis techniques were used to analyse the data obtained in the study. The research findings revealed a negative and moderately significant relationship between mathematics competence expectations and mathematics anxiety. In addition, it was analysed whether these two variables showed significant differences in terms of demographic variables such as gender, school type, grade level, and mother and father's educational status. Among the findings, the mathematics anxiety levels and mathematics competence expectation levels of 9th, 10th, and 11th grade high school students were found to be moderate. No significant difference was found between the mathematics competence expectation averages and mathematics anxiety averages of students according to the levels of gender, mother's educational status, and father's educational status variables. The analyses revealed that mathematics competence expectations differed significantly according to grade level and school type variables, but these variables did not have a statistically significant effect on mathematics anxiety scores. However, significant differences were found in the 'mathematics in daily life' sub-dimension of mathematics anxiety, both according to class level and school type. The findings obtained from the semi-structured interviews conducted as part of the analysis of qualitative data revealed that five main factors play a role in the formation of mathematics anxiety: teacher-induced, student-induced, mathematics structure-induced, environmental factors-induced, and exam/assessment system-induced factors. As a result of the research, it is recommended that affective-based approaches be adopted in mathematics lessons for students, that students' mathematical self-confidence be supported, that awareness studies be conducted on teachers' attitudes in the classroom, and that concrete materials, visual aids, and activities related to daily life be used in mathematics teaching to facilitate students' understanding of abstract concepts.