Female Preservice Teachers and Mathematics: Anxiety, Beliefs, and Stereotypes

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine if preservice teachers’ (PSTs) mathematics anxiety decreased and if their beliefs and stereotypes changed after they completed their early childhood mathematics methods course. It was hypothesized that by using and modeling concrete materials or manipulatives (Thompson, 1992; Vinson, 2001) and placing a greater emphasis on conceptual understanding (Bursal & Paznokas, 2006), two strategies identified as reducing PSTs’ mathematics anxiety, negative beliefs, and stereotypes that are associated with math anxiety, would diminish. Thirty preservice teachers, all female, participated in this study. Using a qualitative research approach, measures included midcourse evaluations, a draw-a-mathematician task (Mewborn & Cross 2007), the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (Hopko, Mahadevan, Bare, & Hunt, 2003), and anecdotal notes. Although we were encouraged that the math anxiety experienced by our preservice teachers slightly decreased by the end of the semester, it was discouraging to find minimal change of beliefs and stereotypes of mathematicians. This confirms that many preservice teachers enter teacher education programs with well-established images of how to do school, along with entrenched beliefs about mathematics and their ability to do math (Vacc & Bright 1999) and these beliefs are very difficult to change.