What Factors Cause
Math Anxiety in Girls?
July 11, 2014
EDS 206 Research Brief
by Corinne Hamill
A small case study to help educators understand the multiple
influences in a student’s attitude towards math.
What is Happening during
Math?
Observations in a Third Grade Classroom
Observations where conducted in a third grade classroom
for two weeks. During those two weeks, the observer
focused on the eight girls in the classroom. There were no
changes made to the daily routine and teaching style of the
classroom. All observations were done informally and no
action was taken to alter the girl’s response to the lesson.
Photo Credit: Jimmie (2011) found on Flickr.
Many students feel anxious when they are learning
about math. There can be many factors,
including teachers and parents that influence
a student’s math anxiety.
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During those two weeks, four girls had multiple signs of
anxiety or frustration specific to times when math was
being instructed. Only one girl showed signs during other
subjects in the class. The following is a summary of the
observations made in the order of a typical schedule for
the class, as reflected in Figure 1.
During physical education, none of the girls in the class
shows signs of anxiety and frustration.
When students were asked to participate in an educational
math game on a personal electronic device, only one
student participated in an off-task activity during the two
weeks.
During language arts instruction, none of the girls
observed showed signs of anxiety or frustration.
Figure 1.The chart above is the recording sheet for one
week of observations in the third grade classroom.
The girls were given numbers and observed for
two weeks. When they showed signs of anxiety
during a subject, their number was recorded in the
box.
What are signs of
anxiety or frustration?
In this paper, the following visual signs were
considered to be link to anxiety or frustration:
 Head placed on table
 Crying
 Refusal to complete the work
 Self-removal from the classroom
 Participating in an off-task activity
During math instruction, four girls showed signs of anxiety
and frustration on multiple days during the two weeks of
observations.
During social studies instruction, none of the girls observed
showed signs of anxiety or frustration.
As shown in Figure 1, the observations were recorded on a
grid chart. The majority of signs were shown during math
instruction.
Is this a reflection of the girl’s attitude towards math? Is it
a reflection of the teaching techniques? Or does it stem
from a parent’s view of math? What factors are causing the
girls to show anxiety during math instruction?
July, 11 2014
Math Anxiety
EDS 206
Research Brief
A Teacher’s View of
Math Anxiety
The third grade teacher of the classroom were the
observations took placed was interviewed about her
opinions of the anxiety displayed during math
instruction. During the semi-closed interview, the
teacher discussed the disconnect between the
student’s grades and their attitudes during math
lessons.
For example, two of the girls who showed signs of
anxiety during math have top grades in the subject.
She thinks that these students are nervous about
failure because they have good grades. She does not
understand why they get “so worked up” over math
because “they know how to do it”.
The other two students who showed signed of anxiety,
are below grade level, according to the teacher. “They
are upset because they don’t understand the content.”
The teacher talks about the importance of students
having a strong number sense for the complex math
concepts that are taught in third grade, which include
multiplication, division, and fractions. She views their
signs of anxiety as an expression on them not
understanding the concept.
The teacher was asked about how she helps the
students who show signs of anxiety. “I try not to bring
attention to them by just letting them have their
moment. I have try to help them but sometimes that
makes it worse, so I just let them be.”
There are many questions about why these students
are showing signs of anxiety during math. Could the
structure of the class be causing the anxiety? The
teacher has designed her math lessons to follow a
national program. Each day, the students learn and
practice a new concept that falls under the overall unit
of a state standard. The teacher prefers this pace
because it keeps the class “moving towards what they
need to learn.” However, this pace also means that if a
student does not understand a concept, they do not
have the opportunity to develop the math skill before
moving on to the next concept. It students are aware
of this risk, it could be a reason for them showing
signs of anxiety or frustration during math.
Figure 2: Results from a questioner given to the girls
in the class.
The Students’ View of Math
A seven question poll was given to the girl students in the third
grade classroom. While the sample size was small and data
inconclusive, it needs to be noted that six of the eight girls
reported that the like math. That means 75% of the girls in the
class self-proclaim to like math the subject. Yet half of them
showed signs of anxiety during the lessons. What causes the
disconnect between liking math and showing signs of anxiety
while learning about it? While future information needs to be
collected to fully explore this question, it does bring to light that
other factors may be causing the math anxiety observed in the
classroom.
A Parent’s View of Math
A parent not involved in the case study classroom was
interviewed about her views of math anxiety. She has two
daughters and expressed concern about her oldest being
anxious or frustrated with math. “When I try to help her with
her homework, she gets so hard on herself. I want her to
be able to do math, but I don’t want to force her to do it.”
The parent explained that she struggled with math as a
student and so she thinks her daughter gets it from her.
When asked how she helps her daughter with the anxiety
or frustration towards math, she said, “I just tell her that
you don’t have to like it but you have to do it.”
Could this common view of math be causing some of the
anxiety observed in the study case classroom? While more
information is needed to make any connections, it is
possible that a parent’s negative view of math plays a role
in the development of anxiety in a student.
July 11, 2014
Math Anxiety
EDS 206
Research Brief
Current Research about Math
Anxiety
In the last ten years, there have been studies about
math anxiety and the factors that may cause it in
students. For this brief, four peer-reviewed articles
were used to help understand the math anxiety
observed in the third grade classroom.
In the article titled The Relationship Among
Mathematics Teaching Efficacy, Math Anxiety, and
Mathematical Self-Concept: The Case of Turkish PreService Elementary Teachers (Isiksal), math anxiety is
defined as “feeling of tension and anxiety that interfere
with the manipulation of number and the solving of
mathematical problems.” (2010) The article discusses
two different types of anxiety, math learning anxiety
and math evaluation anxiety. For this brief, only math
learning anxiety was observed and recorded. However,
the paper did find a strong correlation between math
anxiety and negative attitudes towards math. More
research would be needed to discover why the girl’s in
the case study said they enjoy math but still have
visible signs of anxiety during math lessons.
The influence of math anxiety in a classroom and how
it effects students is discussed in “I think I can, but I’m
afraid to try”: The Role of Self-Efficacy Beliefs and
Mathematics Anxiety in Mathematics Problems-Solving
Efficiency by Hoffman (2010). It was found that math
anxiety effects a student’s performance and selfperception. Since it can have an impact on student’s
learning, it is important to address and lower the levels
of math anxiety in a classroom.
Photo Credit: Jimmie (2012) found on Flickr.
Photo Credit: Jimmie (2012) found on Flickr.
Connection to the Case Study
In regards to the teacher’s role, a study found that
pre-service teachers who brought math anxiety to
the classroom effective their student’s attitudes
towards math. In Addressing Math Anxiety in the
Classroom by Finlayson (2014), it was found that
many pre-service teachers lacked the selfconfidence as well as effective learning practices
to teach math. The study suggests that a teacher
needs to address their own math anxiety in order
to help their student’s be successful in the
subject. While this brief did not focus on the
teacher’s math anxiety, this paper brings to light
that the teaching strategies maybe a reflection of
the teachers attitude towards math. As the paper
demonstrates, students can pick up on that
anxiety and develop similar emotions towards
math.
There has also been research that found parental
involvement can influence a student’s math
anxiety. In a paper titled From Parental
Involvement to Children’s Mathematical
Performance: The Role of Mathematics Anxiety
(Vukovic, 2014), it was found that parents could
influence success in math as well as lower anxiety
towards the subject
While more research needs to be done in order to
understand all the factors involved with math
anxiety, it is important to acknowledge its
influence on student’s learning. Both teachers and
parents have a role in lowering the levels of
anxiety students may feel about the subject math.
July 11, 2014
Math Anxiety
EDS 206
Research Brief
Next Steps and Suggestions
More research about math anxiety and the different factors that contribute to it is needed in order to
address the issue. It can stem from a combination of a teacher’s approach to math or a parent’s
negative view; there are many things that can cause a student to feel anxious about math. It is
important to acknowledge math anxiety in the classroom and make an effort to address it.
Some suggestions for addressing math anxiety include:
 Pre-service training for teachers to overcome their own math anxiety.
 Professional development for teachers that focus on good teaching practices in math.
 Classroom support for students to access math at their own level.
 Training and support of parents in math.
 Community based programs to help families with math concepts.
References:
Finlayson, Maureen. (2014). Addressing math anxiety in the classroom. Improving School, Mar2014,
Vol.17 Issue 1, p99-115.
Hoffman, B. (2010). “I think I can, but I’m afraid to try”: the role of self-efficacy beliefs and mathematics
anxiety in mathematics problem-solving efficiency. Leaning and Individual Differences. Vol.20.3
p276-283.
Isiksal, M. (2010). The relationship among mathematics teaching efficacy, math anxiety, and mathematical
self-concept: the case of Turkish pre-service elementary teacher. The Asia-Pacific Education
Reseacher. Vol.19:3. P501-514.
Vukovic, R. Roberts, S. Wright,L. (2014). From parental involvement to children’s mathematical
performance: the role of mathematics anxiety. Early Education and Development, Vol.24:4, p446467.
Corinne Hamill
University of California, San Diego
Education Studies, Multiple Subject Credential
and Master’s Program
2013-2014