Investigation of Middle School Students' Attitudes Towards Mathematics and Their Mathematical Competence

An examination of middle school students’ attitudes towards mathematics and their mathematical competence is the central goal of this study. The sample is comprised of 998 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from middle schools in the Fethiye district of Muğla province in the 2021-2022 academic year. The attitudes of the middle school students towards mathematics showed significant differences in the “anxiety” sub-dimension and the “study” sub-dimension depending on the gender variable. The mean “anxiety” score of the male students was found to be significantly higher than that of the female students. The mean “study” score of the female students was found to be significantly higher than that of the male students. While the attitudes of the middle school students towards mathematics were found to vary significantly depending on the grade level variable in favour of the lower grades, it was determined that there was no significant difference between the attitudes of students depending of the variable of whether taking mathematics-related courses outside the school. While the mathematical competence of the middle school students was found to not vary significantly depending on the gender variable, it was found to vary significantly depending on the grade level variable in favour of the lower grades. The mathematical competence mean scores of the students were found to vary significantly depending on the variable of whether taking mathematics-related courses outside the school in favour of the students taking mathematics-related courses outside the school.