Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Gerald Giraud

Abstract

Learning disabled (LD) students are put in inclusion classrooms in order to experience the mainstream environment and to receive the same level of education as their regular education counterparts. Unfortunately, LD students do not always get the mathematics education that they deserve because inclusion mathematics teachers are not required to be highly qualified in mathematics. The focus of this study was on the relationship between mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy of inclusion teachers and the academic achievement of the LD students they serve. The theoretical framework of this study involved the concepts of student achievement, teacher efficacy, mathematics anxiety, and best practices in teaching. The research questions of this study involved understanding the impact of inclusion teachers' mathematics anxiety and mathematics self-efficacy on the mathematics achievement of LD students. A quantitative survey design was used, and data were collected from 15 volunteered participating inclusion math teachers using the Learning Mathematics Anxiety subscale; the Personal Mathematics Teaching Efficacy subscale; a demographic questionnaire; and students' school level state standardized test scores and end-of-course final average in Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra I, or Algebra II. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between the variables of mathematics teachers' anxiety, mathematics teachers' self-efficacy, and student achievement. The findings of this study revealed that inclusion teachers' mathematics anxiety and teaching efficacy did not significantly predict mathematics achievement of LD students. The implication for social change is that further research that includes variables other than teacher mathematics anxiety and teaching efficacy is needed to understand mathematics performance of learning disabled students.

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