What a fear of maths does to children – new research

Maths anxiety is the feeling of tension and fear that many people experience when called on to work out a sum.

This article first appeared in the Conversation

For children, it can lead to behavioural problems in class, as well as physical symptoms such as butterflies in the stomach and a racing heart.

Students with high maths anxiety perform worse in standardised maths tests and school exams. Anxious thoughts interfere with recalling maths-related facts and procedures, and also with performing these procedures well. This is often described as the experience of having your mind go blank.

Our new research shows that maths anxiety does not only affect how children do in exams, it also affects their ability to learn new mathematical concepts and procedures in class.

Early beginnings

We introduced more than 200 six-year-old schoolchildren in the UK and Italy to mathematics that they had not covered in school before. This included additions with tens and using the lesser than and greater than signs.

Continues.

For the full article, by Dr Kinga Morsanyi, of º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s Mathematics Education Centre, visit the Conversation.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 20/198

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in the Guardian University League Table 2021, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2021.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

Categories