Math Anxiety: Understanding the Developement, Effects and Preventions for Future Students
Children’s experiences in education influences their attitudes, feelings and abilities towards academics. Early experiences with education can foster positive feelings, motivating students and encourage further study or they can produce negative feelings such as anxiety. Mathematics is an area known to be associated with high levels of anxiety in learners. Hill, Mammarella, Devine, Caviola, Passolunghi, and Szucs (2016) define math anxiety as “a negative emotional response to current or prospective situations involving mathematics” (p.45).
Anxiety towards mathematics is a well-researched topic for secondary and adult learners, with new research showing that it can be identified as early as grade one (Andrews & Brown, 2015). I believe this new research provides reasonable evidence that preventing math anxiety starts in the early years. Preventing math anxiety is important, as there is a direct correlation between math anxiety and poor achievement in math (Andrews & Brown, 2015). Correspondingly, …show more content…
On an individual level math anxiety most commonly effects students’ achievement, creating a cycle that students often cannot escape without support. For example, low math achievement causes math anxiety and math anxiety effects math achievement creating a cycle of continuously poor achievement (Furner & Duffy, 2002). Furthermore, at the individual level math anxiety causes students to have little confidence in their skills, which again leads to poor achievement in math. Poor achievement in math tends to lead students to avoid math. As well they become unlikely to purse further math courses or careers (Andrews & Brown, 2015). Student’s avoidance of math and not pursing higher-level math courses limits their career choices (Furner & Berman,
Children’s experiences in education influences their attitudes, feelings and abilities towards academics. Early experiences with education can foster positive feelings, motivating students and encourage further study or they can produce negative feelings such as anxiety. Mathematics is an area known to be associated with high levels of anxiety in learners. Hill, Mammarella, Devine, Caviola, Passolunghi, and Szucs (2016) define math anxiety as “a negative emotional response to current or prospective situations involving mathematics” (p.45).
Anxiety towards mathematics is a well-researched topic for secondary and adult learners, with new research showing that it can be identified as early as grade one (Andrews & Brown, 2015). I believe this new research provides reasonable evidence that preventing math anxiety starts in the early years. Preventing math anxiety is important, as there is a direct correlation between math anxiety and poor achievement in math (Andrews & Brown, 2015). Correspondingly, …show more content…
On an individual level math anxiety most commonly effects students’ achievement, creating a cycle that students often cannot escape without support. For example, low math achievement causes math anxiety and math anxiety effects math achievement creating a cycle of continuously poor achievement (Furner & Duffy, 2002). Furthermore, at the individual level math anxiety causes students to have little confidence in their skills, which again leads to poor achievement in math. Poor achievement in math tends to lead students to avoid math. As well they become unlikely to purse further math courses or careers (Andrews & Brown, 2015). Student’s avoidance of math and not pursing higher-level math courses limits their career choices (Furner & Berman,