Math Anxiety in Pre Service Elementary School Teachers and its Effects on Perceived Ability to Teach Mathematics

The present study investigated math anxiety in pre service elementary school teachers and its possible effects on their perceived ability to teach mathematics. In researching the causes and consequences of math anxiety, the researcher was interested in the following questions: (a) What are the causes of math anxiety in pre service elementary school teachers? (b) What contributes to math self efficacy in pre service elementary school teachers? (c) What is the effect of math anxiety on pre service elementary school teachers' perceived ability to teach mathematics? Three pre service elementary teachers were interviewed in a semi structured setting. Their responses were then analyzed and coded according to the categories posed by the research questions. The results suggested that timed math tests, high pressure math assignments, mean math teachers, situations where they felt the teacher was at fault for math struggles, and the cyclical nature of anxiety may have contributed to math anxiety. Self efficacy in mathematics may have been constructed by positive experiences with math, including teachers who acknowledged the difficulty of math, teachers who made math enjoyable, and teachers who emphasized the process of learning rather than correctness. In regard to future impact on the participants' ability to teach math, the participants spoke about avoidance of math in their own lives, the value of resilience in teaching and learning math, concern over modeling math anxiety for their students, changed perspectives because of pre service teacher training, and uncertainty of how to make their students feel comfortable with math. 1 MATH ANXIETY IN PRE SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS Math Anxiety in Pre service Elementary School Teachers and its Effects on Perceived Ability to Teach Mathematics! It is common today to hear college students say they are "not math people" or they have never liked math (Jackson Leffingwell, 1999; Furner Duffy, 2002) Anxious feelings toward mathematics seem to be more prevalent than anxious feelings toward other core subjects (Helwig, 2004) Helwig (2004) conducted a longitudinal study, which found students selected math as their least favorite subject every year from second grade through 12 grade. With the current push for U.S. students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, it is important to investigate why so many students seem to have anxiety in relation to mathematics. One possibility is that students are modeling these negative feelings after their teachers' negative feelings toward mathematics. Bandura Rosenthal (1966) found that even if observers have a neutral reaction to a particular stimulus, they might learn to react negatively by observing others experience negative reactions toward said stimulus. In the field of teaching specifically, young students have shown a tendency to imitate their teachers while performing work on their own (Bandura, 1966) This may start as early as elementary school. The purposes of the present study are to investigate math anxiety and math self efficacy in pre service elementary school teachers and their effects on their perceived ability to teach mathematics. ! Math anxiety is sometimes defined as "a feeling of nervousness, unease, or tension that interferes with math performance" (Chernoff, 2014, p. 29) Another author defines it as a feeling of unease and fear that surfaces when one engages with activities related to math (Wang et al. 2014) In some individuals, this anxiety is so strong that the anticipation of doing math related tasks triggers a reaction in the brain similar to that of physical pain (Lyons Beilock, 2012) 2 MATH ANXIETY IN PRE SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS Students may experience sweating, increased heart rate, nausea, panic, stomach discomfort, and more (Chernoff, 2014) Individuals with high math anxiety also have a strong desire to avoid math and math related activities. This anxiety can cause "mental disorganization" and may make it more difficult for individuals to process information related to math (Ashcraft, 2002; Tobias Weissbrod, 1980, p. 65) Current research shows a link between math anxiety and self efficacy in math. Bandura (1993) defines self efficacy as one's belief in his or her ability to achieve a goal. His research shows that one's ability to achieve this goal is directly related to one's self efficacy. Bandura's (1993) research indicates students believe anxious feelings toward a certain task are a sign that they will be unsuccessful. Further, those who doubt their self efficacy in a given area tend to visualize instances in which they will experience failure, which in turn leads to anxiety (Bandura, 1993) Additional studies show similar findings in that students with higher math anxiety believe they are less efficacious in solving math problems. Griggs et al. (2013) found that higher anxiety in any subject area leads to lower perceived self efficacy in that area. In regard to math specifically, Bandura (1993) found that a student's positive attitude toward the subject is a better indicator of that student's performance than his or her math ability. Another important factor that Bandura (1993) claims may lead to anxiety is seeing others surpass oneself. Math anxious individuals tend to avoid college majors and careers that relate to math (Ashcraft Krause, 2007) This is especially concerning in the case of pre service elementary teachers; they may unwittingly choose a career path that requires deep understanding and engagement with math. A study by Ball (1990) found that, in a group of pre service elementary teachers, less than half felt that they were capable of understanding advanced math. Over a third of them said that they were not good at math and tend to avoid math altogether. Another study 3 MATH ANXIETY IN PRE SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS showed that pre service elementary teachers tend to have low math self efficacy (Merkowsky Chernoff, 2014) Pre service elementary teachers have reported high levels of negative perceptions of math; in Burton's (2015) study, 52% of the pre service elementary teacher participants reported having a negative perception of math, while only 14% reported having a positive perception. Tobias's (1991) research and experiences working with undergraduate students showed that most students indeed have the cognitive ability to excel in even advanced math courses. She emphasized the key effect that experiences have on students; when students feel out of control of their own learning or embarrassed in front of their peers, or have a particularly negative experience with a math teacher, they tend to associate these negative feelings with the subject of math in general. Fiore's (1999) study had similar results: teachers, especially in the elementary school setting, appeared to have a significant impact on their students' feelings toward math, and therefore the students' success in math. It seems that math anxiety is more closely related to the way teachers and parents present math than it is to the nature of the math itself (Greenwood, 1984; Lazarus, 1974) Method! Research Questions! In researching the causes and consequences of math anxiety, the researcher was interested in the following questions: (1) What are the causes of math anxiety in pre service elementary school teachers? (2) What contributes to math self efficacy in pre service elementary school teachers? (3) What is the effect of math anxiety on pre service elementary school teachers' perceived ability to teach mathematics? Participant Demographics and Recruitment! 4 MATH ANXIETY IN PRE SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS The participants (n 3) were selected through purposeful homogeneous sampling (Coyne, 1997) Pre service elementary school teachers enrolled in two sections of their first elementary mathematics education course (n 61) were asked to complete a survey to determine their self reported levels of math anxiety from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most math anxiety. Twenty six survey participants reported a math anxiety level of five or higher. Of these 26, nine indicated that they were willing to be contacted for individual one hour interviews. The researcher invited these nine individuals to participate in an interview via a scripted email. The researcher received responses from three individuals, who were then interviewed. A copy of the survey can be found in  Each participant was a female in her early 20's and a college junior at the time of her interview. Abigail, Beth, and Caroline reported a 7, 5, and 5 out of 10, respectively, on their initial math anxiety surveys. Abigail identifies as Chinese/white, and the other two participants identify as white. The participants came from middleto upper class backgrounds. Abigail and Caroline attended public schools from kindergarten through 12 grade, while Beth attended private school for her whole life. All plan to teach elementary school after graduation. Caroline is considering pursuing her master's degree in an accelerated master's program with an emphasis on special education. Each participant's teaching experience is limited to short term field experiences through their teacher education programs. Abigail also had experience teaching at an after school program that supported students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. ! The setting for the present study is the College of Education in a selective, private liberal arts university located in an urban metroplex in the southern United States. During the year of 5 MATH ANXIETY IN PRE SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS the study, university enrollment was reported as approximately 9,000 undergraduate students, approximately 300 of whom were members of the College of Education. Approximately 60% of enrolled undergraduates in all programs were female, 72% were white, and 52% were native to the state in which the