Portrait of differences in mathematical anxiety according to gender and the link between mathematical anxiety and mathematics performance among 15-year-old French-speaking Quebec students who participated in the PISA in 2003 and 2012

Abstract

This article paints a portrait of the differences in mathematical anxiety according to gender and the link between mathematical anxiety and mathematical performance, among 15-year-old French-speaking Quebec students who participated in PISA in 2003 and 2012. After verifying the metric and scalar invariance of the PISA mathematical anxiety measure, between boys and girls, the results of this article reveal that, on average, 15-year-old French-speaking girls in Quebec report a statistically higher level of mathematical anxiety than boys. In addition, the results of 2003 and 2012 show that the negative link between mathematical anxiety and mathematical performance is equivalent in boys and girls and, therefore, there does not seem to be any moderating effect on this link, by gender. From there, the article focuses on the intervention strategies that could reduce the importance of the negative link between mathematical anxiety and mathematical performance, in individuals who claim to be anxious about mathematics.