This study aims to understand the relationships between mathematics anxiety, attitude, experience and choice of subject specialism among primary student teachers in the first year of their initial teacher training (ITT). During an ITT course at a London University, elements of anxiety and negative attitude surrounding mathematics were observed by tutors among trainee teachers. For example, some demonstrated a reluctance to actively participate in mathematics-related sessions or expressed concerns about their ability to teach mathematics, particularly with older and/or more able primary-aged students. Furthermore, at the end of the first year, students appeared to prefer other subjects to mathematics when they were required to select a subject specialism. Such observations are not unusual or new. Since the 1980s (Beilock et al., 2010; Cockcroft,1982; Ernest,1988; Hembree,1990), student teachers’ fear, anxiety, and negative attitudes towards mathematics have been highlighted as problematic with recommendations that training institutions should help students develop positive attitudes to and confidence in the subject (Cockcroft,1982).

To help prospective primary school practitioners develop positive attitudes and confidence during their ITT course, it is important to understand the learning experiences of students undertaking the course before their arrival on the ITT programme and their existing mathematics anxiety levels and attitudes to mathematics. During the programme, their attitude to mathematics as both teacher and learner may change; this research aims to critically analyse students’ experiences and mathematics anxiety. At the time of writing this, limited research exploring mathematics anxiety and the teaching of mathematics among primary student teachers is available; this research, therefore, seeks to contribute to understanding in this area.

Global interest in mathematics anxiety has been evident in the volume of research conducted and published over the last three decades. Such research often provides evidence that mathematics anxiety is associated with various negative cognitive and emotional outcomes (e.g. Ashcraft & Krause, 2007; Espino et al., 2017). Impact on cognitive outcomes is evidenced in low performance and achievement, mainly because anxiety interferes with the ability to maintain and manipulate information and resources within the mind, which is necessary for arriving at solutions in arithmetic calculations and problem-solving (Ashcraft & Krause, 2007). Emotionally, mathematics anxiety is associated with disliking and avoiding and possessing an unfavourable attitude towards mathematics, which, in turn, may impact achievement and eventually mathematical progress as well as career and course-related decisions that shape people’s future (Espino et al., 2017). Although most studies agree that there is no difference in the prevalence of mathematics anxiety between teachers and non-teachers (Barroso et al., (2021), there is evidence suggesting it is more prevalent among primary student teachers than in other sectors (Hembree, 1990). Research also indicates that formal mathematics instruction experiences influence this anxiety (Brady & Bowd, 2005). Generally, teachers anxious about mathematics have poor attitudes and perpetuate their anxiety and negative attitudes towards mathematics among their students (McAnallen, 2010). However, the relationships described above are not simple. Recent research, for example, suggests that the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance is not unidirectional but rather bidirectional. Mathematics anxiety has a negative impact on performance, but poor mathematics performance may also increase anxiety (Carey et al., 2017; Maloney, Risko, Ansari, & Fugelsang, 2011). These are important observations as an established bidirectional relationship that concerns performing or teaching mathematics will exacerbate any impact and adverse outcomes for both ends, turning it into a vicious cycle. 

This study adopts a mixed-method research design. The setting is the first year of a Qualified Teacher Status Primary Bachelor of Arts (Hons) programme at a London University, where student teachers attend taught sessions at the university and have placements at schools for teaching experience. Data were collected from Year 1 students over two consecutive academic years to identify patterns among different groups of students experiencing the same training provision. All 47 students were invited to complete an electronic questionnaire before undertaking their school placement and again after their placement, and to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. In the first year (the second is underway), 20 students completed the first questionnaire and 14 of them the second, and three participated in the interviews. The two questionnaires consisted of five parts. The first three parts were the same for both questionnaires. They included measurement scales/inventories developed, validated and used in the past by other researchers to measure mathematics anxiety, attitudes to mathematics and attitudes to the teaching of mathematics. Part I measured mathematics anxiety using Hopko et al.’s (2003) nine-item Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS). Part II measured attitudes towards mathematics using Lim and Chapman’s (2013) 19-item scale of the short Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (short ATMI). Part II also measured attitudes to teaching mathematics using three scales from Nisbet’s (1991) Attitudes to Teaching Mathematics Questionnaire (ATMQ) (14 items) specific to confidence and enjoyment, desire for recognition and pressure to conform. Part IV explored students’ experiences from formal mathematics instruction as learners in primary and secondary school (first questionnaire) and experiences from their first year of their ITT (the second questionnaire). Questions for Part IV had been adapted from Brady and Bowd’s (2005) questionnaire, which used closed and open questions to measure the mathematics experiences of pre-service education students. The semi-structured interviews aimed to explore in more depth participants’ experiences in addition to their beliefs/feelings about mathematics. We used descriptive and non-parametric statistical tests to analyse the data from the questionnaires. Descriptive statistics helped us identify patterns among the data, and non-parametric tests consisting of calculations of Pearson correlation coefficients helped us determine the relationship between respondents’ total measuring scores from AMAS, short ATMI, ATMQ, and the other variables (e.g. experiences and choice of specialism). Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s Alpha. We analysed the interview data thematically (Opie & Brown, 2019) and utilised nVivo for coding and categorising.

The following are preliminary conclusions based on the initial analysis of the first phase. Most students who responded to the first questionnaire displayed high/middle anxiety levels. The gap between those with low anxiety and the rest of the respondents was considerable, making these students appear as a distinct group. Attitudes towards mathematics and attitudes towards teaching mathematics were mostly rated middle. Analysis of both questionnaires showed interesting relationships between mathematics anxiety, attitudes to mathematics and attitudes to teaching mathematics and the other variables examined. The anticipated negative correlation between mathematics anxiety and attitudes to mathematics was confirmed mainly for students with low anxiety. Relationships between mathematics anxiety and attitudes towards teaching mathematics were more complex, with some low-anxiety students displaying positive attitudes and high-anxiety students having mixed attitudes across the range (low to high). Complex relationships were also evident between mathematics anxiety and choosing mathematics as a subject specialism, with weak or insignificant correlations. Negative correlations were also observed between mathematics anxiety and qualification level or mathematics grade and between mathematics anxiety and experiences from compulsory education (low/high levels of liking/enjoying mathematics). Stronger relationships with significant negative correlations were observed between mathematics anxiety and attitudes to mathematics and mathematics anxiety and experiences from formal mathematics instruction. The interviews confirmed the strong correlations between mathematics anxiety, attitudes to mathematics and experiences we observed in both questionnaires, including experiences acquired during the ITT programme. The weak correlation between mathematics anxiety and choice of specialism was also confirmed during the interviews. It seems that the choice of specialism was influenced more by the experiences students gained through the ITT programme: the mathematics seminars, the teaching during school placement and the support they had from their mentors, rather than the experiences acquired before commencing the ITT and their anxiety levels.

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