ERIC Number: ED609215
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 20
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Math Anxiety. Educational Practices Series 31
Szucs, Denes; Mammarella, Irene C.
UNESCO International Bureau of Education
Mathematics is often perceived as a difficult subject by many students, parents and teachers alike. Difficulties with the subject are most often attributed to cognitive factors (lack of ability, preparedness, practice and knowledge). Emotional factors are often overlooked and are easily written off as potential persistent and serious causes of mathematical learning difficulties. However, it is increasingly recognized in psychology and education that several students have serious negative emotional reactions to mathematics. These emotional problems can lead to performance difficulties and/or can become obstacles that discourage students from further mathematics training even if their performance is good. This debilitating emotional reaction to mathematics is termed "mathematics anxiety" (MA), which is presented in this report. MA ranges from the feeling of mild tension to experiencing strong fear. MA is not restricted to classroom situations or to children. Rather, MA can generalize to out of school situations and can affect adults. MA is often present in normally performing students, discouraging them from choosing math related careers. A structured universal prevention program for MA does not yet exist. Most of the activities suggested in this report are based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and the Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). These methods help individuals to identify self-defeating thoughts and feelings, challenge the rationality of those feelings, and replace them with more productive beliefs.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Mathematics Anxiety, Emotional Response, Cognitive Restructuring, Behavior Modification, Gender Differences, Mathematics Achievement, Low Achievement, Cognitive Ability, Teacher Role, Educational Environment, Environmental Influences, Screening Tests, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Self Esteem, Self Efficacy, Student Experience
UNESCO International Bureau of Education. C.P. 199, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Tel: +41-22-917-78-00; Fax: +41-22-917-78-01; Web site: http://www.ibe.unesco.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: International Bureau of Education (IBE) (Switzerland); International Academy of Education (Belguim)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A