Does maths make you anxious?
Since I’ve started presenting and sharing my research into maths anxiety it has opened up the floodgates of people telling me about their own difficulties, anxieties, avoidance and, in some cases, sheer terror over doing or thinking about maths.
To me this just shows the breadth of the phenomenon and the need for more conversations. People should not have to suffer in silence and feel that it is just them, it’s a deeper issue that is impacting on children, teachers, educational psychologists, and the wider population.
So what is the problem?
According to the Maths Anxiety Trust around one in five adults in the UK lack even basic numeracy skills. The UK has been referred to as being in a “mathematics crisis”, with numeracy skills being on the decline. UK Government statistics from 2012 state that half of the UK population have only primary level maths skills. Lacking maths skills is a hidden problem that can impact people’s lives and prospects. It can impact on anything from budgeting to barriers to progression in work, and even completing a simple recipe. It’s having a negative impact on the UK economy, with the cost of poor numeracy estimated at £388 million per week (National Numeracy, 2019).
It is important to understand factors which may not only contribute to these mathematical skill deficits, but also that can be worked on to improve outcomes.
Maths anxiety
Maths anxiety is described as the “feelings of apprehension and tension concerning manipulation of numbers and completion of mathematical problems in various contexts” (Richardson and Suinn, 1972), with contexts including academic and real-life situations. Maths anxiety is a pervasive issue which involves physiological arousal at the point of ‘doing maths’, as well as in anticipation. Maths anxiety has been observed from as early as 4 years of age (Petronzi et al, 2017).
I was lucky enough to have Dr Dominic Petronzi as one of my lecturers at the University of Derby. One of his webinars on maths anxiety is how my interest in the area started. I began to recognise how even though I was mathematically able, that the avoidance was creeping into my practice in schools. The worry of teaching a child wrong or making a mistake on the board. I began to recognise the avoidance in others too, such as children who had those frequent first aid visits during maths but not during English and the teachers who, despite being normally quite vocal, sat silent during maths SKEWs (Subject Knowledge Enhancement Workshops). I developed my interest in maths anxiety through work with Dr Katia Vione on my master’s research project and Dr Thomas Hunt and the Maths Anxiety Research Group (MARG).
Is attitude the key?
Petronzi et al. (2017) explored factors that can shape children’s attitudes and observations of children’s attitudes by parents and teachers. Children with positive attitudes to maths never mentioned punishment, avoidance, failure, and fear whereas those with negative attitudes only mentioned these. Children mentioned fears of being shouted at if they’ve got it wrong, other people finishing first, fear of making mistakes and an idea that maths defines intelligence.
In my study into maths anxiety in teachers, attitudes towards maths accounted for the largest impact in predicting maths anxiety out of all my variables (teacher self-efficacy, maths teaching anxiety, gender, years teaching experience). In other studies, teachers’ attitudes to maths have been found to also be directly linked to students’ attitudes and performance in maths.
The positive take home from this is that attitudes are more malleable and easier to change than self-efficacy beliefs. Self-efficacy beliefs are more fixed and are connected to an individual’s whole belief system. Efforts to change negative attitudes towards mathematics, could make a significant difference to maths anxiety levels.
We only have to look at negative attitudes towards maths in advertising and the media (Specsavers 2021 algebra flier and L’Oréal Paris’ 2015 with Dame Helen Mirren) to see that this is something that needs addressing on a societal level as well as individual.
Kylie’s EP Reach-Out webinar: Maths anxiety in teachers
References
Carey, E., Devine, A., Hill, F., Dowker, A., McLellan, R., & Szucs, D. (2019). Understanding mathematics anxiety: investigating the experiences of UK primary and secondary school students.
Conran, S. (n.d.). What is Maths Anxiety? The Maths Anxiety Trust.
National Numeracy. (2019). Autumn Report. Building a numerate nation: confidence, belief and skills
Petronzi, D., Staples, P., Sheffield, D., & Fitton-Wilde, S. (2017). Numeracy apprehension in young children: Insights from children aged 4-7 years and primary care providers. Psychology and Education, 54(1).
Richardson, F. C., & Suinn, R. M. (1972). The mathematics anxiety rating scale: psychometric data. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 19(6), 551. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0033456
More from edpsy:
Thanks for you interesting reflections. I do so agree that attitude is critical here. You mention finding maths anxiety in children as young as 4 years – and I believe that the roots of the anxiety are very often laid down that early.
In maths, there is a small core of facts that just have to be learned – the number names and numerals (with the teens being particularly tricky), and not much else! Everything else is LOGICAL, and can be worked out if you forget it. What often happens though, is that children are taught (and tested on) curriculum skills which they do not fully understand. They learn to perform these skills, but they also learn that maths does not make sense, has lots to remember, and trips you up. So, what we need is to teach children from where they are, using a problem-based learning approach. They will learn to build on what they know, and will experience repeaqted successes with progressively more complex tasks. They will not then develop maths anxiety.
As a very experienced educational psychologist, I often choose maths as the place to start working, when young people are disengaged from education. That is because it is so simple: you can go back to what they know, and build on that in small steps. They have a strong experience of successful new learning, and associated positive emotions (the ‘problem-solving kick’, and the visible outputs they produce when they work.)
Ruth