PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND VALIDATION OF THE MATH ANXIETY SCALE FOR TEACHERS/MAST-BR FOR THE BRAZILIAN CONTEXT

Background: The phenomenon "Mathematics Anxiety" (MA) is characterized by a set of unpleasant reactions, whether physiological, cognitive or behavioral, in the face of situations that require the use and application of mathematical knowledge.MA occurs in both students and teachers.In Brazil, there are no measuring instruments for MA in teachers.Objective: To cross-culturally adapt the "Math Anxiety Scale for Teachers -MAST" to the Brazilian context.Design: This is a cross-sectional study.The adaptation procedures followed the steps recommended in the literature.Setting and participants: 254 teachers working in the Early Years of the Public School System in the city of Pelotas/RS took part.Data collection and analysis: The teachers answered a self-administered online questionnaire consisting of the Informed Consent Form, socio-demographic variables and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and MAST-BR scales.The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.The JASP program was used for the confirmatory analysis of the scale.Results: The theoretical analysis of the items showed a satisfactory Content Validity Coefficient (total CVC = 0.94).The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the MAST-BR can be used in both unidimensional and bifactorial models, with better results in the latter [c 2 /gl < 1; CFI= 1.00; TLI= 1.00; RMSEA= 0.000 (0.000 -0.000); SRMR= 0.049].Internal consistency indicated good homogeneity.The scale showed a statistically significant correlation with the GAD-7 (r= 0.428), suggesting evidence of criterion validity.Conclusion: The MAST-BR scale showed adequate psychometric characteristics and is robust for assessing the phenomenon of MA in teachers.