Date of Award
1-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Mathematics
First Advisor
Todd Frauenholtz
Abstract
Math anxiety is an increasingly common occurrence among individuals when working with mathematical concepts. While researching math anxiety the author came across common gender stereotypes implying: women do not perform as well as men in the field of mathematics, women experience a much higher level of math anxiety than men, and most women do not appreciate performing mathematical tasks. Although the concept of math anxiety is an interesting topic to the author, it's important to look deeper than simply the question, “What is math anxiety?” Seeing these stereotypical assumptions that women have higher math anxiety levels, it made this author wonder, when does this math anxiety start? What impact does math anxiety have in the primary grades? Are there trends among girls and boys? What evidence is there? Using this main question and sub-questions as lenses to analyze a variety of case studies, it is important to verify that researched articles are not just those of opinion, but conclusions based on data and documented proof when comparing math anxiety levels between males and females in the primary grades. The author also made a point to examine contradicting resources to keep an open mind when comparing credible resources while creating a high quality research report.
Recommended Citation
Anderson-Mix, Amanda R., "The Impact of Math Anxiety in the Primary Grades" (2015). Mathematics Graduate Theses. 17.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/thesis-math/17
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Gender Equity in Education Commons, Mathematics Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons
