MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Mathematics anxiety has emerged as a significant educational challenge that adversely affects students’ learning processes academic performance and overall attitude toward mathematics especially at the secondary school level. Mathematics anxiety refers to feelings of fear tension and apprehension experienced by learners while engaging with mathematical concepts problem-solving tasks and evaluations. Such anxiety often results in avoidance behaviour reduced self-confidence and persistent underachievement in mathematics. The present analytical study seeks to examine the level of mathematics anxiety among secondary school students and analyse its variation in relation to gender social background and type of school. The study also explores the relationship between mathematics anxiety and academic achievement in mathematics. A descriptive analytical research design was adopted for the study. A stratified random sample of 400 secondary school students was selected from government and private schools ensuring adequate representation of male and female students as well as tribal and nontribal groups. Data were collected using the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) along with academic achievement records in mathematics. Statistical techniques such as mean standard deviation t-test ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation were employed for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal that mathematics anxiety is moderately to highly prevalent among secondary school students. Female students exhibit significantly higher mathematics anxiety than male students. Tribal students show higher anxiety levels compared to nontribal students while government school students experience greater anxiety than private school students. A significant negative relationship is observed between mathematics anxiety and academic achievement indicating that higher anxiety is associated with lower performance in mathematics. The study highlights the urgent need for anxiety-sensitive teaching practices supportive classroom environments and learner-centred instructional strategies to reduce mathematics anxiety and improve academic outcomes at the secondary level.