Investigating Hispanic Preservice Teachers’ Mathematics Anxiety, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy

Öz

Math anxiety plagues students and teachers and may cause reduced math competency, avoidance of math courses, and physiological symptoms. This study investigated Hispanic pre-service teachers’ math anxiety, self-efficacy, and coping strategies. Previous research found that math-anxious teachers may promote the same feelings in their students and choose less effective teaching strategies. Therefore, we wanted to identify the incidence of anxiety in our Hispanic teacher candidate population while identifying potential differences from previous studies. Very few past investigations looked at this population exclusively and findings from other populations may not apply to our candidates and teachers. We collected data using a digital survey instrument and found math anxiety correlated with low self-efficacy and poor attitudes toward mathematics. Quizzes and exams, statistics, and probability caused the most anxiety among our participants. The most common way participants coped with their anxiety was to study more, followed by mindfulness and test-taking strategies. Based on our findings, math anxiety is quite common among Hispanic teacher candidates and should be studied further since many used coping strategies that did not appear to help even though they have shown promise in previous studies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• math anxiety
• anxiety coping methods
• math anxiousness
• preservice teachers
• math avoidance

Kaynakça

1. Ahmed, W. (2018). Developmental trajectories of math anxiety during adolescence: Associations with STEM career choice. Journal of Adolescence, 67, 158–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.06.010.
2. Ahmed, W., Minnaert, A., Kuyper, H., & van der Werf, G. (2012). Reciprocal relationships between math self-concept and math anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(3), 385–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.12.004
3. APA. (2020). APA dictionary of psychology. APA. https://dictionary.apa.org/mindfulness
4. Banerjee, N. (2018). Effects of teacher-student ethnoracial matching and overall teacher diversity in elementary schools on educational outcomes. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(1), 94–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2017.1393032
5. Beilock, S. L., & Willingham, D. T. (2014). Math anxiety: Can teachers help students reduce it? American Federation of Teachers. https://www.aft.org/ae/summer2014/willingham
6. Bekdemir, M. (2010). The pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety related to depth of negative experiences in mathematics classroom while they were students. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 75(3), 311–328. JSTOR.
7. Blazer, C. (2011). Strategies for reducing math anxiety. Information Capsule, 1102, 1–8.
8. Buckley, S., Reid, K., Goos, M., Lipp, O. V., & Thomson, S. (2016). Understanding and addressing mathematics anxiety using perspectives from education, psychology and neuroscience. Australian Journal of Education, 60(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944116653000

9. Burns, M. (1998). Math: Facing an American phobia. Math Solutions Publications.
10. Carpenter, D. M., & Clayton, G. (2014). Measuring the relationship between self-efficacy and math performance among first-generation college-bound middle school students. Middle Grades Research Journal, 9(2), 109–125.
11. Casanova, S., Vukovic, R. K., & Kieffer, M. J. (2021). Do girls pay an unequal price? Black and Latina girls’ math attitudes, math anxiety, and mathematics achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 73, 101256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101256
12. Chang, H., & Beilock, S. L. (2016). The math anxiety-math performance link and its relation to individual and environmental factors: A review of current behavioral and psychophysiological research. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.04.011
13. Choe, K. W., Jenifer, J. B., Rozek, C. S., Berman, M. G., & Beilock, S. L. (2019). Calculated avoidance: Math anxiety predicts math avoidance in effort-based decision-making. Science Advances, 5(11), eaay1062. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay1062
14. Finlayson, M. (2014). Addressing math anxiety in the classroom. Improving Schools, 17(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1177/1365480214521457
15. Foley, A. E., Herts, J. B., Borgonovi, F., Guerriero, S., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2017). The math anxiety-performance link: A global phenomenon. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(1), 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721416672463
16. Gautreau, C., Brye, M. V., & Lunceford, C. (2016). Mathematics-related anxiety and attitudes: Examining the impact among Latina preservice teachers. Journal of Latinos and Education, 15(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2015.1045146
17. Gollnick, D. M., & Chinn, P. C. (2021). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (Eleventh edition). Pearson Education, Inc.
18. Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., Furner, J. M., Vásquez-Colina, M. D., & Morris, J. D. (2017). Pre-service elementary teachers’ achievement goals and their relationship to math anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 60, 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.10.002
19. Gregor, A. (2005). Examination anxiety: Live with it, control it or make it work for you? School Psychology International, 26(5), 617–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034305060802
20. Gresham, G. (2018). Preservice to inservice: Does mathematics anxiety change with teaching experience? Journal of Teacher Education, 69(1), 90–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117702580
21. Harper, N. W., & Daane, C. J. (2012). Causes and reduction of math anxiety in preservice elementary teachers: Action in teacher education. Action in Teacher Education, 19(4), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.1998.10462889
22. Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 21(1), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/749455
23. Hoffer, W. W. (2012). Minds on mathematics: Using math workshop to develop deep understanding in grades 4-8. Heinemann.
24. Hollingsworth, H. L., & Knight-McKenna, M. (2018). “I am now confident”: Academic service-learning as a context for addressing math anxiety in preservice teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 39(4), 312–327.
25. Hopko, D. R. (2016). Confirmatory factor analysis of the math anxiety rating scale–revised. Educational and Psychological Measurement. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164402251041
26. Iossi, L. (2013). Strategies for reducing math anxiety in post-secondary students. In S. M. Nielsen & M. S. Plakhotnik (Eds.), Proceedings of the Sixth Annual College of Education Research Conference: Urban and International Education Section (pp. 30–35). Florida International University. http://coeweb.fiu.edu/research_conference/
27. Luttenberger, S., Wimmer, S., & Paechter, M. (2018). Spotlight on math anxiety. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 311–322. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S141421
28. Lyons, I. M., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). When math hurts: Math anxiety predicts pain network activation in anticipation of doing math. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e48076. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048076
29. Maloney, E. A., Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E. A., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2015). Intergenerational effects of parents’ math anxiety on children’s math achievement and anxiety. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615592630
30. Novak, E., & Tassell, J. L. (2017). Studying preservice teacher math anxiety and mathematics performance in geometry, word, and non-word problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences, 54, 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.01.005
31. OECD. (2013). Mathematics self-beliefs and participation in mathematics-related activities. 87–112. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264201170-8-en
32. Olson, A. M., & Stoehr, K. J. (2019). From numbers to narratives: Preservice teachers experiences’ with mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety. School Science and Mathematics, 119(2), 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12320
33. Pew Research Center. (2018). Racial, ethnic diversity has grown more quickly among U.S. public school students than teachers. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/FT_18.08.09_TeacherRace.png
34. Ramirez, G., Hooper, S. Y., Kersting, N. B., Ferguson, R., & Yeager, D. (2018). Teacher math anxiety relates to adolescent students’ math achievement. AERA Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418756052
35. Ramirez, G., Shaw, S. T., & Maloney, E. A. (2018). Math anxiety: Past research, promising interventions, and a new interpretation framework. Educational Psychologist, 53(3), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2018.1447384
36. Reardon, S. F., & Galindo, C. (2007). Patterns of Hispanic students’ math skill proficiency in the early elementary grades. Journal of Latinos and Education, 6(3), 229–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348430701312883
37. Siegler, R. S., Thompson, C. A., & Schneider, M. (2011). An integrated theory of whole number and fractions development. Cognitive Psychology, 62(4), 273–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2011.03.001
38. Sloan, T. R. (2010). A quantitative and qualitative study of math anxiety among preservice teachers. The Educational Forum, 74(3), 242–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2010.483909
39. Stevens, T., Olivárez, A., & Hamman, D. (2006). The role of cognition, motivation, and emotion in explaining the mathematics achievement gap between Hispanic and white students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28(2), 161–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986305286103
40. Swars, S. L., Daane, C. J., & Giesen, J. (2006). Mathematics anxiety and mathematics teacher efficacy: What is the relationship in elementary preservice teachers? School Science and Mathematics, 106(7), 306–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2006.tb17921.x
41. Szucs, D., & Mammarella, I. C. (2020). Math anxiety (No. 31; Educational Practices Series, p. 1. – 38). UNESCO International Bureau of Education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373402?locale=en
42. Tassell, J., Gerstenschlager, N. E., Syzmanski, T., & Denning, S. (2020). A study of factors impacting elementary mathematics preservice teachers: Improving mindfulness, anxiety, self-efficacy, and mindset. School Science and Mathematics, 120(6), 333–344. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12425
43. Tobias, S., & Weissbrod, C. (1980). Anxiety and mathematics: An update. Harvard Educational Review, 50(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.50.1.xw483257j6035084
44. Vacarr, B. (2001). Voices inside schools: Moving beyond polite correctness: Practicing mindfulness in the diverse classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 71(2), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.71.2.n8p0620381847715
45. Yahav, R., & Cohen, M. (2008). Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for adolescents. International Journal of Stress Management, 173–188.
46. Wallace, A. (2018). President’s message: A think about, updates, and thank you. Mathesis NHTM, 50(4), 1–3.
47. Warwick, J. (2017). Dealing with mathematical anxiety: Should one size fit all? The Mathematics Enthusiast, 14(1), 161–174.
48. Zettle, R. D. (1988). Acceptance and commitment therapy vs. systematic desensitization in treatment of mathematics anxiety. The Psychological Record, 53(2), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395440