FACTORS AFFECTING MATHEMATICS ANXIETY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITY UNDERGRADUATES IN SRI LANKA (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITIES)

Abstract

The term "math anxiety" refers to a state of stress and dread that impairs one's capacity to perform mathematical computations, manipulate numbers, and solve mathematical problems in a range of real-world and academic environments. The main objective of this study is to explore the factors that mainly affect math anxiety among Social Sciences and Humanity undergraduates in Sri Lanka. Stratified random sampling was used to choose a sample size of 265. Structural equation modelling method was used to analyses the collected data. Five factors were tested with the math anxiety.They are; student attitude, role of lecturers, emotions, skills, and influence of peers and parents. It was discovered that students’ negative attitudes and emotions have a positive effect on math anxiety. The roles of lecturer and parents and peer influence have a negative relationship with math anxiety. Finally, skills have no relationship with math anxiety.