Abstract:

The two aims of this study are as follows: (i) to compare the differences in mathematics anxiety and achievement in secondary school students according to their perceptions of the quality of their mathematics education via a cluster analysis and (ii) to test the effects of the perception of mathematics education quality on anxiety and achievement via structural equation modeling. The research was designed using a causal design; the mathematics education quality comprised the independent variable, whereas mathematics anxiety and achievement comprised the dependent variables. This study was conducted with 638 secondary school students from schools located at the city center of Eskisehir, spread in the region [lower, middle and upper] according to the socio-economic classification of TUIK, which is referred to as layered sampling. Data were collected using the Mathematics Education Quality Scale and the Mathematics Anxiety Assessment Scale, whereas student achievement levels were obtained from the Placement Test [TEOG] score and the mathematics grade point average [GPA]. The data obtained in this study were analyzed using Ward’s minimum variance hierarchical cluster, discriminant, ANOVA, MANOVA, paired-samples t-test and path analysis. The findings were grouped as (i) input, (ii) process and (iii) output clusters, which each presented different perceptions of secondary school students regarding the quality of mathematics education. In addition, these findings also indicated that mathematics education quality perception positively affects the TEOG and mathematics GPA, whereas it negatively affects mathematics anxiety.

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