An Investigation Into the Relationships Between 8th-Grade Students' Mathematics Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Their Motivation and Anxiety Levels

This study seeks to examine the relationships between 8th-grade students' mathematics self-efficacy perceptions and their motivation and anxiety levels. The correlational survey model was used in the study. The population of the study consists of 9811 8th-grade students studying at 64 public schools in Batman province in the 2020-2021 academic year. The sample consists of 550 students from 10 secondary schools selected via the random method among 9811 students. Personal Information Form, Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, Motivation Scale for Mathematics Lessons, and Mathematics Anxiety Scale were used as data collection tools. Independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson product-moment correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The relationship between mathematics self-efficacy perception, mathematics lesson motivation, and mathematics anxiety was calculated by path analysis. As a result, a positive and moderately significant relationship was found between students' mathematics self-efficacy perceptions and their motivation for mathematics lessons while a negative and moderately significant relationship was found between mathematics self-efficacy perceptions and mathematics anxiety. It was also determined that there was a negative and moderately significant relationship between students' motivation for mathematics lessons and their mathematics anxiety. The Path analysis revealed that as 8th-grade students' mathematics self-efficacy perceptions increase, their motivation for mathematics lessons increases, and their mathematics anxiety levels decrease. Article visualizations: