Mathematical anxiety is a common phenomenon, with estimates suggesting that between 6 and 17% of the population experiences it. It is particularly prevalent among younger people, with 36% of those aged 15 to 24 feeling anxious about mathematics, compared to 10% of those over 65. Studies have also found that 4 out of 5 students with math anxiety have average to high math performance, suggesting that the anxiety is related to fear of failure rather than actual ability. Math anxiety has been linked to worse long-term performance in mathematics than in other academic subjects such as reading, and this is in part due to the reluctance of those with math anxiety to practice mathematics. This reluctance is often caused by negative attitudes towards mathematics, which have been present in debates about mathematics education for more than a century.
These attitudes have led to curricula and educational practices that exacerbate math anxiety and strengthen the so-called “fixed academic mentality”, the belief that mathematical skills are innate and cannot be improved with effort. In order to help children overcome math anxiety, it is important to help them understand that mathematics does not define them, but can help them redefine their world. This can be done by encouraging them to practice mathematics and by helping them see the beauty of the chaos of nature or the satisfaction of persevering and eventually finding the solution to a mathematical riddle. It is also important to prepare children for a world that revolves around big data, so that they understand more than just basic arithmetic.
By doing this, we can turn math anxiety into joy.
