Abstract
Math Anxiety not only plays an important role in the academic performance of students but also has a significant influence on the methodology adopted by teachers. In this study, we examine the relationship between the levels of Math Anxiety of a group of prospective teachers and their opinions about the importance of Geometry in Primary Education. Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) was applied to 152 students of the Primary Education Degree, along with open-ended questions on their opinions about the role of Geometry in Primary School. An internal consistency check and a factorial analysis were performed on AMAS data to obtain factors Math Learning Anxiety (MLE) and Math Evaluation Anxiety (MEA). The responses from the open-ended questions were categorized and classified into procedural or relational reasons. Results indicate a biased conception about what Geometry teaching should be. Procedural reasons are related to higher levels of Math Anxiety, being the MLE factor more correlated than MEA. Conversely, relational reasons are related to lower levels of such anxiety. Not all the reasons were correlated at the same level, and no differences between genders were observed in the reasons alleged. Results suggest that emotional factors in prospective teachers should be taken into account as they can induce a bias in their future didactic strategies.
Highlights
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [1] emphasizes the importance of Geometry in PrimaryEducation, as it is the natural situation for the development of reasoning and can be an important tool in problem solving
A study carried out by [4] on conceptions about Geometry teaching from prospective teachers showed a procedural way of thinking, as they perceived the Geometry as something difficult, where problem solving was understood as identifying it from a list of standard problems in order to apply the right formula
Evidence has shown that a procedural approach to justify Geometry in Primary Education is related to higher levels of mathematical anxiety, specially the Math Learning Anxiety (MLA) factor, not all the reasons had the same level of correlation
Summary
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [1] emphasizes the importance of Geometry in Primary Education, as it is the natural situation for the development of reasoning and can be an important tool in problem solving. A study carried out by [4] on conceptions about Geometry teaching from prospective teachers showed a procedural way of thinking, as they perceived the Geometry as something difficult, where problem solving was understood as identifying it from a list of standard problems in order to apply the right formula. These conceptions were strongly determined by their past experiences as students
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