Understanding the cognitive and emotional foundations of mathematical ability.

Effect of student engagement on Mathematics performance: The moderating role of Math anxiety

This study maps the development and intellectual structure of math learning anxiety research using a bibliometric approach. Data were obtained from the Dimensions database (indexed from Scopus) covering publications from 2020 to 2025. Following the PRISMA framework (identification, screening, eligibility), a total of 127 peer-reviewed articles were initially identified, of which 94 articles met the final inclusion criteria. VOSviewer version 1.6.20 was used to generate co-occurrence network, overlay, and density visualizations. Results show a consistent annual increase in publications. Network visualization reveals a strong association between math anxiety and learning outcomes, confirming its role as a significant affective factor. Overlay analysis indicates a thematic shift from early keywords (test, outcome, ability) toward more recent topics (engagement, performance, self-efficacy, academic achievement). Density visualization confirms that student, mathematics, and mathematics anxiety are the most dominant terms, while technology and engagement appear as emerging but low-density themes. These findings confirm that bibliometric visualization effectively maps research trends and intellectual structures, offering a strategic basis for future research agendas.

Mathematical ability is widely recognized as a core indicator of students' cognitive development and academic achievement. However, in classroom environments where artificial intelligence (AI)-supported instruction is increasingly integrated into routine teaching practices, how mathematics anxiety shapes the development of mathematical ability over time remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, this study examines the longitudinal relationship between state mathematics anxiety and mathematical ability among primary school students in AI agent-supported instructional contexts, with particular attention to the moderating role of executive function. Using a convenience sampling approach, a total of 494 students from Grades 1, 3, and 5 participated in routine AI agent-supported mathematics instruction over a six-month period, with AI-supported lessons implemented approximately twice per week on average. A two-wave longitudinal design was adopted, and cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted to examine the directional relationships between the key variables. The results indicated an asymmetric relationship, in which mathematics anxiety significantly predicted subsequent mathematical ability, while the reverse effect was not supported. Specifically, higher levels of mathematics anxiety predicted subsequent declines in overall mathematical ability, mathematical computation ability, and logical-spatial ability, whereas prior mathematical ability and its subdimensions did not significantly predict later mathematics anxiety. In addition, executive function moderated the relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematical ability outcomes in a domain-specific manner. Higher levels of executive function strengthened the negative association between mathematics anxiety and both overall mathematical ability and mathematical computation ability, but not logical-spatial ability. A similar pattern was observed for inhibitory control, whereas working memory and cognitive flexibility did not show significant moderating effects. This study contributes new longitudinal evidence on students' mathematical development in AI agent-supported classrooms and advances current understanding of how mathematics anxiety and executive function jointly shape learning outcomes, while also informing the design of more responsive instructional support.

This study aims to analyze the implementation of diagnostic assessment in identifying mathematics learning difficulties among elementary school students. The study used a literature review method by analyzing 10 scientific articles published between 2016 and 2026 obtained from Google Scholar. Data were analyzed through data reduction, classification, content analysis, and synthesis of findings. The results show that diagnostic assessment is effective in mapping students’ cognitive abilities into high, medium, and low categories and identifying learning errors through the Newman Error Analysis approach. In addition, diagnostic assessment can reveal non-cognitive barriers such as mathematics anxiety and low learning motivation. Follow-up strategies through differentiated instruction, concrete learning media, and the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach were found to improve students’ mathematics learning outcomes. The study concludes that diagnostic assessment plays an important role in supporting adaptive and student-centered mathematics learning. Therefore, strengthening teachers’ competencies in designing comprehensive diagnostic instruments is highly recommended.

Many studies have indicated that mathematics anxiety is a significant problem for many people and is an important topic for research. Mathematics anxiety is multidimensional. In particular, it is important to distinguish between worry and emotionality components, and between trait and state anxiety. Much research shows a reciprocal relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance adding to the importance of gaining a greater understanding of the factors involved in mathematics anxiety. This paper aims to review some studies of factors that have often been found to be associated with mathematics anxiety: age, gender, and culture, and to consider the evidence for these associations and the further research that should be done. The study involved reviewing a range of papers on the selected topics. In particular, the search terms 'Age differences and mathematics anxiety', 'Gender and mathematics anxiety' and 'Culture and mathematics anxiety' were put into Web of Science; and citations of relevant papers that emerged were also investigated. Most studies suggest that mathematics anxiety increases with age, and that the relationship between mathematics performance and at least some aspects of mathematics anxiety increase with age. Most, though not all, studies, indicate that females experience more mathematics anxiety than males, and some suggest that there are gender differences in the relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance. Most studies show cultural differences in mathematics anxiety, while also suggesting that the relationship between mathematics anxiety and performance is fairly uniform across cultures. Cross-cultural studies in this area are. However, somewhat limited by the fact that culture is usually confounded with nationality. Moreover, there are studies of all these factors that give somewhat conflicting results. More research needs to be done in order to gain clearer answers, especially regarding the ways in which the effect of age, gender and culture interact with one another. The findings so far about the influences of age, gender and culture on mathematics anxiety have already had significant practical implications, but these need much further development.

Within China's rural educational landscape, students in residential primary boarding institutions face distinctive psychosocial difficulties, with mathematics-related anxiety demonstrating heightened prevalence in these settings. As primary sources of social interaction within school settings, teachers exert significant influence on students' academic outcomes and psychological well-being through shaping their perceptions of educator support. In this study, we recruited 400 fifth-grade students from rural boarding primary schools in Northwestern China and employed validated scales to measure perceived teacher support, self-efficacy, academic procrastination, and mathematics anxiety. A structural equation modelling (SEM) framework was utilized to explore the pathways through which perceived teacher support impacts mathematics anxiety, with particular attention to the independent and chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and academic procrastination. Key findings indicated that: (i) Perceived teacher support exhibited significant negative correlations with academic procrastination and mathematics anxiety, while showing a significant positive correlation with self-efficacy; (ii) Both self-efficacy and academic procrastination independently mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and mathematics anxiety; (iii) A sequential chain mediation pathway was identified, whereby perceived teacher support enhanced self-efficacy, which subsequently reduced academic procrastination, ultimately alleviating mathematics anxiety. These findings emphasize the critical role of perceived teacher support in mitigating mathematics anxiety among rural boarding students through cognitive and behavioural mechanisms, providing empirical foundations for targeted educational interventions.

Shaping students’ creative problem-solving skills through cognitive activation strategies: The mediating role of mathematics anxiety and perseverance

Research has demonstrated a link between spatial and mathematics skills, although less research has addressed the directionality of this relation and what factors may impact the spatial–mathematics link. Two such factors may be spatial and mathematics anxiety, which are related to performance in their respective domains, but may also play a cross-domain role in the relation between spatial and mathematics skills. Importantly, these relations are prudent to investigate in children when mathematics and spatial skills are early in their development. To bridge the gap, the present study examined the direction of the relation between spatial and mathematics skills across two waves of data and the domain specificity of cognitive anxieties (spatial and mathematics anxiety) as they relate to their respective skill in children. In a sample of 647 U.S. first-graders (Mage = 6 years 8 months), we found bidirectional relations between spatial and mathematics skills across two waves of data collection. We found domain-specific, but not cross-domain, relations between mathematics anxiety and skills, but no evidence of links between spatial anxiety and spatial or mathematics skills at this age. These results provide support for the bidirectional spatial–mathematics link in young children and suggest that mathematics anxiety may be a useful target for interventions to improve mathematics outcomes.

The relationship between teacher support and students' mathematics achievement has been extensively studied. However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the associations between teacher support and mathematics achievement among high school students, and to test the potential mediating roles of mathematics anxiety and learning engagement in these associations. Participants included 1,340 high school students (Mage = 16.71years), and all participants completed questionnaires measuring teacher support, math anxiety and learning engagement, as well as three standardized mathematics achievement tests. The data analysis in this study was performed using the structural equation model (SEM) in SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 8.3. The results revealed that: (1)teacher support was positively correlated with mathematics achievement; (2)mathematics anxiety mediated the relationship between teacher support and mathematics achievement; (3)learning engagement mediated the relationship between teacher support and mathematics achievement; (4)mathematics anxiety and learning engagement jointly played a chain mediating role in the relationship between teacher support and mathematics achievement. These findings highlight the significant associations between perceived teacher support and mathematics achievement among high school students, mediated through cognitive and behavioral mechanisms, thus providing preliminary correlational evidence that may inform future longitudinal and experimental research on educational practices.

Anxiety is a multidimensional construct that influences cognitive performance in complex ways, yet its factor structure and domain-specific effects remain unclear. This study examined (1) the psychometric structure of general and specific anxiety measures, (2) their associations with cognitive performance across different domains, and (3) the predictive power of machine learning models in classifying cognitive performance based on specific anxiety in different domains. A two-stage design was employed: Stage 1 (N = 500) assessed self-reported anxiety (trait, state, generalized, social, spatial, and math anxiety) via questionnaires, while Stage 2 (N = 104) involved a set of experiments measuring cognitive performance (accuracy and reaction time) across numerical, social, spatial, and control tasks. Factor analyses revealed a correlated yet distinct structure. The model treating anxiety measures as independent factors showed the best fit among tested alternatives; however, all CFA models exhibited suboptimal absolute fit indices (TLI/CFI < 0.73). Regression analyses also demonstrated domain-specific effects: after controlling for state and generalized anxiety, trait anxiety showed small but statistically significant positive associations with performance on the social task (OR = 1.03) and spatial task (OR = 1.07). Machine learning models (Random Forest, Decision Trees, SVM) demonstrated limited predictive accuracy, with ensemble methods outperforming linear models. Prediction of reaction time in cognitive tasks, based on anxiety measures, was less powerful, suggesting that non-anxiety factors play a larger role in cognitive performance. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between general and domain-specific anxieties in cognitive research and demonstrate the potential of a machine learning approach in modeling anxiety–performance relationships.

Curriculum material is often designed to address content-specific intended learning goals. However, research indicates that teachers’ personal goals may cause misalignments between their implementation of curriculum material and its intended learning goals. This study aims to investigate misalignments between teachers’ implementation of curriculum material and its intended learning goals and to which extent they are caused by teachers’ personal goals. To reach this aim, a qualitative study was conducted to examine how eight vocational school teachers implemented the learning activity “How many?” suggested for the initial training of early childhood educators on the topic of set perception and determination of cardinality. Each participant provided a lesson plan and self-recorded lesson video on the topic of set perception and determination of cardinality. In addition, participants were interviewed on how they used the provided curriculum material for designing their lessons and their potential reasons to adapt or omit “How many?”. To evaluate their lesson design’s alignment with the activity’s intended learning goals, the participants' lesson plans were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Triangulation of the findings with the interview data revealed that only one participant fully adopted the intended learning goals as her own and implemented the activity completely in line with its intended learning goals. Meanwhile, the remaining participants’ personal goals, such as reducing math anxiety, seemed to cause misalignments regarding the intended learning goals. The study's results detail further constraints and affordances to the alignment between teachers’ lesson designs and learning goals intended by curriculum material. It is followed that it is central to support teachers in adopting intended learning goals as their personal goals. Otherwise, teachers’ classroom implementation of curriculum material may not suffice to reach desired outcomes.

Although math anxiety (MA), math interest (MI), and math self-concept (SC) have been investigated separately in the literature, their simultaneous examination within a longitudinal framework remains limited. The present study investigated the longitudinal indirect effect of MI in the relationship between MA and SC, grounded in Control-Value Theory (CVT). A two-wave cross-lagged panel design was employed with a four-month measurement interval. The final analytic sample comprised 543 Turkish middle school students (Grades 6-8). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with 5000 bootstrap resamples was used to test the hypothesized indirect associations, with autoregressive controls included for all constructs. Measurement model fit was confirmed separately for each wave prior to structural estimation. Results indicated that MA at Time 1 negatively predicted both MI (β = −0.157, p < 0.01) and SC (β = −0.150, p < 0.01) at Time 2, while MI at Time 2 positively predicted SC at Time 2 (β = 0.626, p < 0.01). The indirect effect of MA on SC via MI was statistically significant (β = −0.098, 95% CI [−0.167, −0.034]), supporting a prospective indirect association. These findings demonstrate that MI functions as an active motivational mechanism through which early anxiety erodes students’ mathematical self-perceptions over time, and underscore the importance of interventions that simultaneously target MA reduction and interest development to protect SC in early adolescence.

This study investigated the factors affecting mathematics learning pace among Grade 7 students at Osmeña Colleges Junior High School during the academic year 2023–2024. Anchored on Cognitive Load Theory, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, and Self-Determination Theory, the study examined the demographic, psychological, instructional, and environmental influences contributing to differences in students’ mathematics learning progression. A descriptive quantitative research design was employed using a structured survey questionnaire composed of closed-ended items. The respondents consisted of 28 Grade 7 students selected through purposive and random sampling procedures from a population of 30 learners. Data were analyzed using percentage distribution and weighted mean. The findings revealed that most respondents were early adolescents, with the majority aged 13 years old. Students encountered difficulties related to distractions during class, solving word problems, understanding lessons delivered too quickly, and keeping pace with classroom instruction. Emotional and motivational factors such as mathematics anxiety, low self-confidence, and fear of failure also affected learning pace, although many students remained motivated to improve their mathematics skills. Instructional strategies involving visual aids, guided problem-solving, and teacher feedback positively supported learning, while interactive and student-centered approaches were only moderately utilized. Environmental factors such as availability of study spaces, access to learning materials, family encouragement, and household responsibilities likewise influenced students’ learning experiences. Respondents identified one-on-one tutoring, flexible assessment time, and technology-supported learning interventions as beneficial strategies for improving mathematics performance. The study concluded that mathematics learning pace is shaped by interconnected demographic, psychological, instructional, and environmental factors. It recommended the implementation of differentiated and scaffolded instruction, problem-based and collaborative learning approaches, social-emotional support, strengthened home–school partnerships, and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) interventions to address diverse learner needs and promote equitable mathematics learning opportunities. The study supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education by promoting inclusive and learner-centered instructional practices, as well as SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities through equitable educational support for students with varying learning abilities. The findings contribute to educational sustainability by encouraging adaptive teaching practices, improved student well-being, and inclusive learning environments that strengthen long-term academic development and institutional effectiveness.

This study aspired to determine the moderating effect of instructional practices on the relationship between mathematics attitude and anxiety of students of Grade 9 students. The quantitative design utilizing descriptive and correlational methods were used in the study. The respondents of the study were 207 grade 9 students at selected schools in Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte of S.Y. 2025-2026. Mean, Standard Deviation, Pearson-r and Hierarchical Regression Analysis were used in interpreting the data gathered. Findings were, levels of mathematics attitude, mathematics anxiety, and instructional practices are all high. Also, it was found that there is a significant relationship between mathematics attitude and mathematics anxiety among the respondents. Furthermore, instructional practices of teachers do not significantly moderate the relationship between mathematics attitude and mathematics anxiety among the respondents. Based on the findings, it would serve as basis for DepEd as well as other organizations for strengthening policies and programs that address students’ emotional and psychological experiences in learning mathematics that help positive mathematics attitude and eventually improved mathematics performance and confidence among students Keywords: mathematics, education, instructional practices, mathematics attitude, mathematics anxiety

In this research, mathematics anxiety amongst secondary school students is investigated, considering the effect of socio-economic status (SES) and locality on the phenomenon. The research design that was used is the quantitative survey method in which purposive sampling technique was used to collect information from 211 students of class IX who were attending schools from UP Board in Lucknow district. Information on mathematics anxiety was collected using Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Secondary Students (MASSS), and Mann-Whitney U test was used for data analysis. The findings showed that socio-economic status has no substantial impact on the majority of dimensions of mathematics anxiety such as affective dimension, attitudes towards mathematics, perceived challenges, and social dimensions. On the contrary, a clear disparity was noticed in self-efficacy and self-concept of high SES students, implying that they were more confident compared to their counterparts in lower socio-economic status. For locality variable, it was found that the difference was only statistically significant for perceived difficulty dimension, where students from urban locales reported higher stress levels. Finally, mathematics anxiety can be said to be more related to psychological characteristics than socio-economic background.

In the current educational paradigm, summative assessment is often perceived as a “pedagogical verdict” that reinforces math anxiety and blocks students' cognitive progress. This article proposes a rethinking of the role of summative assessment, demonstrating how traditional summative assessments can become powerful tools for building mathematical resilience and metacognition. Based on the results of a year-long pedagogical experiment involving 72 students aged 10-12, the authors demonstrate that delaying grade assignment in favor of qualitative feedback allows students to exit the "red zone" of panic and remain in the "growth zone" even during summative testing. The use of proprietary tools (the feedback table and the corrective sheet) facilitated a qualitative leap in self-regulation development: 80% of respondents learned to systematically analyze their own errors. The article reveals the deep psychological mechanism of an assessment's impact on motivation: it was established that immediate knowledge of a grade becomes a "terminal point" for 40% of students, whereas qualitative comments without a numerical equivalent stimulate internal responsibility and cognitive endurance. It is empirically confirmed that 60% of students became emotionally more stable, and 71% formed a "growth mindset," prioritizing understanding the material over formal grade improvement. This work is critical for educators and researchers seeking to humanize the assessment system.

Math anxiety is widespread and can have many consequential effects on one’s life. Extensive research has reported a strong negative association between math anxiety and math achievement. This relationship impacts students of all grade levels. Two of the most common short interventions to mitigate math anxiety and bolster math achievement are arousal reappraisal and expressive writing. The present preregistered study sought to replicate and extend seminal findings in the arousal reappraisal and expressive writing literature to improve math performance. Compared to a control condition in which participants wrote about what they did yesterday, participants who learned about how arousal can be used to facilitate rather than hinder performance (arousal reappraisal) or expressed their worries about an upcoming math assessment (expressive writing) failed to improve their performance on a math assessment compared to the control condition. Furthermore, these interventions did not affect participants’ subjective assessments of their performance on the math task or their discomfort with it. No differences were observed when considering participants’ prior math anxiety levels, the difficulty of the math problems, or socioeconomic status. Teachers and practitioners may seek a “quick fix,” but overcoming math anxiety will likely require a consistent and concentrated effort.

Fraction material presents considerable difficulty for students due to the presence of learning obstacles. The purpose of this study is to describe the profile of learning obstacles experienced by elementary school students in understanding fractions in South Central Timor (TTS) Regency, as well as the dominant factors contributing to these obstacles. A qualitative case study design was employed. The participants consisted of 200 sixth-grade elementary school students and 10 elementary school teachers from South Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province. Data were collected using triangulation, combining diagnostic tests and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis followed the Miles and Huberman framework, comprising three stages: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. The findings revealed three types of learning obstacles: epistemological, ontogenic, and didactic. Epistemological obstacles include difficulties with modeling fractions, equalizing denominators, and applying the "flip and multiply" procedure in division. Ontogenic obstacles encompass lack of concentration, math anxiety, low working memory capacity, and the tendency to treat fractions as whole numbers in addition and subtraction. Didactic obstacles stem from limitations in teaching media, overly hasty symbolic transitions, and uncreative, decontextualized learning methods. Overall, the contributing factors to these obstacles include conceptual, cognitive, psychological, environmental, and instructional factors.

The article substantiates the psychological and pedagogical factors influencing the development of creative personality among students of technical specialties in the process of studying higher mathematics. It is shown that higher mathematics serves not only as a fundamental tool for shaping engineering thinking but also as a universal platform for fostering creativity, critical analysis, and modeling skills essential for the modern engineer. Particular attention is paid to the creation of a safe educational environment that reduces the level of mathematical anxiety, forms a positive self‑concept of the student, and enhances confidence in their intellectual abilities. Strengthening mathematical self‑esteem and developing problem‑solving skills demonstrate a statistically significant correlation with indicators of mathematical creativity, which justifies the study’s emphasis on the use of optimization problems and models as the core of creative training for future engineers. Practical recommendations concern the implementation of formative assessment, the use of open‑ended tasks, the organization of project work, and the facilitative support of the teacher, which stimulates independence and responsibility among students. The results of the study are significant for updating curricula, improving teaching methods, developing innovative educational technologies, and preparing university instructors in technical fields to work under the conditions of digital transformation in education.