School Leadership’s Role in the Disruption of Math Anxiety

Abstract

Math anxiety, the discomfort or fear of math, spans the globe and affects a wide range of ages, from early childhood to adulthood. Teachers and students may experience math anxiety in a variety of contexts. Teachers who suffer from math anxiety often express negative attitudes about math and lack confidence in their pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics, which influences the instructional practices they choose to implement in their classrooms. Student math anxiety adversely affects student engagement and achievement in math. School leadership is fundamental to effective teaching and student learning and plays a vital role in teacher and student math anxiety. By identifying teachers and students who suffer from math anxiety, leaders can create the conditions to reduce and prevent this anxiety. Leading this work will involve the integration of both instructional and transformational leadership to develop a school culture that is open to sharing and strengthening their knowledge of instructional practices focused on math improvement. To address anxiety concerns and advance student achievement in mathematics, it is beneficial for school leaders to adopt some of the characteristics of a learning organization. To be a learning organization requires leadership to cultivate a climate of trust among members of the school community to develop collective efficacy. It entails school leaders and staff participating in professional learning and coaching opportunities to build the collective capacity of evidence-informed instructional practices in math. Using self-reflection, teachers can acknowledge their own feelings and potential biases towards mathematics and seek support to deepen their understanding of math concepts and pedagogy. The engagement of colleagues in the acquirement of best practices in math instruction will develop positive classroom environments that immerse students in the learning of math. By changing how leaders and teachers approach mathematics, math anxiety will decrease, and student achievement will improve.