Mathematics Motivation, Anxiety, and Performance in Female Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Hearing Students

Abstract

Hearing loss can be a major detriment to academic achievement among students. The present comparative study examines the differences in mathematics motivation, anxiety, and performance in female students with hearing loss and their hearing peers. A total of 63 female students with hearing loss (deaf and hard-of-hearing) and 63 hearing female students were selected to participate in the study. The two groups of students were matched in terms of the city of residence, academic year, academic grade, and age. The Mathematics Motivation Scale and the Mathematics Anxiety Survey were used for data collection. The students’ mathematics scores in the first and second semesters of school were used as indicators of their mathematics performance. The data obtained were analyzed using the MANOVA. The results of the study showed a higher intrinsic goal orientation in both hard-of-hearing and hearing students than in the deaf students; extrinsic goal orientation was higher in the deaf and hard-of-hearing students than in the hearing students; and task value, control belief, and mathematics self-efficacy were lower in the deaf and hard-of-hearing students than in the hearing students. The findings of the study also showed that mathematics test anxiety and mathematics anxiety were higher in the hard-of-hearing and deaf students than in their hearing peers. Moreover, mathematics performance was higher in the hearing students than in their deaf and hard-of-hearing peers.