The Effects of Self-Regulation, Motivation, Anxiety, and Attributions on Mathematics Achievement for Fifth and Sixth Grade Students

• Published in: School science and mathematics Vol. 107; no. 6; pp. 225 - 236
• Main Authors: Shores, Melanie L., Shannon, David M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-2007; School Science and Mathematics Association
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Alabama; Anxiety; Attribution Theory; Data analysis; Educational psychology; Elementary education; Elementary school students; Grade 5; Grade 6; Learning; Mathematical analysis; Mathematics; Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Skills; Middle school students; Motivation; Quality; Quantitative analysis; Scores; Self Efficacy; Self Management; Statistical Analysis; Student Motivation; Students; Alabama; United States > US
• ISSN: 0036-6803; 1949-8594
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1949-8594.2007.tb18284.x

For this quantitative study, a total of n = 761 students (58.1% female) from selected fifth‐ and sixth‐grade mathematics classrooms in Alabama were surveyed in order to investigate the relationships between self‐regulated learning, motivation, anxiety, attributions and achievement in mathematics. Data analyses revealed that significant contributions are made by motivation and anxiety on both test score and mathematics grade for fifth grade students. Specific factors (e.g., self‐efficacy, worry, other, and failure) were related to academic performance while failure attribution was significantly related to mathematics grade. As for sixth grade students, data analyses showed relationships exist between motivation, anxiety and academic performance with specific factors (i.e., self‐efficacy, intrinsic value, and worry) significantly predicting both test score and mathematics grade for sixth graders. The findings underlie the importance of motivation and anxiety for students and how these constructs interact to facilitate self‐regulation over the course of developing expertise in a domain, such as mathematics.