The Effects of Motivational Messages on the Mathematics Anxiety of Preservice Elementary Education Majors

This study examined the effects of motivational messages on the mathematics anxiety of preservice elementary education majors. A quantitative, quasi-experimental posttest nonequivalent control group design was used. The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction model of motivation and control-value theories provided direction for this study. Sampling methods included convenience and voluntary response sampling of preservice elementary education majors in nine intact sections of required college mathematics courses. The number of participants sampled was 32. Participants in the treatment group watched supplemental videos embedded with motivational messages that covered concepts in the enrolled course. Participants in the control group watched supplemental videos without embedded motivational messages. All the participants completed a posttest of the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale-Revised. An independent samples t-test was used to test the null hypothesis that no significant difference emerged in the mathematics anxiety of preservice elementary education majors who viewed supplemental videos embedded with motivational messages and preservice elementary education majors who viewed videos without embedded motivational messages. The study found no significant difference between the control and treatment groups t(30) = 0.21, p = 0.84. Future empirical research should be conducted to include more participants, a longer time frame for the experiment, a more diverse population, a pretest and posttest design, a connection to mathematics achievement, and the placement of the experiment near the beginning of the required mathematics course as opposed to the end