Math anxiety: An overview of its origins, impact, and possible interventions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17979/reipe.2022.9.1.8691Keywords:
mathematics anxiety, mathematics performance, gender differences, psycho-educational interventionAbstract
With the growing interests and advances in the STEM field, mathematics plays an essential role in the education and professional lives of children and young adults. It becomes relevant, then, to understand what math anxiety is, its causes, consequences and how to intervene in this issue, which is the aim of this literature review. In this overview, we highlight recent developments particularly relevant for the psychological and teaching practices. We searched for scientific works in the following databases: B-on, Proquest Psychology Journals, PsyARTICLES. Math anxiety has a negative impact on the subject’s well-being and performance, potentially influencing their educational and professional paths. The social setting plays a crucial role in the development of math anxiety. In regard to gender differences, the literature presents various results for which we try to understand the factors that explain them. Lastly, when it comes to interventions, there is still little scientific evidence in this field. However, it is possible to extract some conclusions and strategies that might be helpful to deal with this issue.
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