Student-Teacher Alliance Buffers against the Impact of Moderate Math Anxiety on Course Performance among College Students

Students with math anxiety experience low self-efficacy and high levels of distress when asked to approach math tasks and concepts, which often results in poor course performance. Despite the wealth of research on this construct, relatively little is known about how math anxiety impacts math achievement in college-aged students or what types of classroom-based processes might buffer against this harmful effect. The present study therefore examined the student-teacher alliance as a potential buffer against the detrimental effect of math anxiety on course grades in a sample of nonSTEM college students enrolled in a required mathematics course. Students completed questionnaires regarding their math anxiety, overall anxiety, perception of their alliance with their course instructor, and class grade over the course of a semester. Results indicated that, although elevated math anxiety was associated with poorer course performance, this link was weakened for students who perceived themselves to have a stronger relationship with their instructor. However, this moderation effect was present for students with low to moderate, but not high, math anxiety. Findings highlight the importance of college-level math instructors attending to the student-teacher alliance as a potential anxiety mitigation strategy, particularly for students with moderate levels of math anxiety.