Abstract
Providing high-quality mathematics instruction is vital for children because early mathematics skills are a strong predictor of later academic success. Unfortunately, not all early childhood preservice teachers (PSTs) have positive attitudes toward mathematics and, as a group, report one of the highest levels of mathematics anxiety (Bates, A. B., Latham, N. I., and Kim, J. A. (2013). Do I have to teach math? Early childhood preservice teachers' fears of teaching mathematics. Issues in the Undergraduate Mathematics Preparation of School Teachers, 5. www.k-12prep.mathematics.ttu.edu; Beilock, S. L., and Maloney, E. A. (2015). Math anxiety: A factor in math achievement not to be ignored. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(1), 4–12. 10.1177/2372732215601438). Nonetheless, very few studies have looked at early childhood mathematics teachers as a group with specific knowledge, skills, and beliefs (Parks and Wager, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 36:124–141, 2015). This study investigated associations among teacher characteristics (e.g., age, educational level), mathematics anxiety, beliefs, pedagogy, and attitudes toward mathematics. Significant differences were found in teachers’ mathematics anxiety by PSTs’ age but not level of education. The level of education was able to predict PSTs reform-based beliefs and positive attitudes toward mathematics. In light of these findings, it is essential to support both positive attitudes and inquiry-based instructional methods in PSTs to encourage the development of teachers who are confident and competent in teaching mathematics (Lake & Kelly, Lake and Kelly, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 35:262–275, 2014).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anders, Y., & Rossbach, H. G. (2015). Preschool teachers’ sensitivity to mathematics in children’s play: The influence of mathematics-related school experiences, emotional attitudes, and pedagogical beliefs. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 29(3), 305–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2015.1040564
Artemenko, C., Masson, N., Georges, C., Nuerk, H.-C., & Cipora, K. (in press). Not all elementary school teachers are scared of math. Journal of Numerical Cognition. https://psyarxiv.com/wej8z
Ball, D. L. (1990). The mathematical understandings that prospective teachers bring to teacher education. The Elementary School Journal, 90(4), 449–466. https://doi.org/10.1086/461626
Barrett, D. (2013). Preservice elementary teachers' attitudes improve, and math anxiety decreases with a focus on manipulatives use. National Teacher Education Journal, 6(2), 5–10. https://ntejournal.com/
Bates, A. B., Latham, N. I., and Kim, J. A. (2013). Do I have to teach math? Early childhood preservice teachers' fears of teaching mathematics. Issues in the Undergraduate Mathematics Preparation of School Teachers, 5. www.k-12prep.mathematics.ttu.edu
Beilock, S. L., and Maloney, E. A. (2015). Math anxiety: A factor in math achievement not to be ignored. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215601438
Beilock, S. L., and Willingham, D. T. (2014). Math anxiety: Can teachers help students reduce it? American Educator, 38(2), 28–32. https://www.aft.org/ae
Beisly, A. H., & Lake, V. E. (2021). Knowledge of child development: Associations among pre- service teachers’ level of education and work experience. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 19(2), 195–210.
Bekdemir, M. (2010). The preservice teachers’ math anxiety related to depth of negative experiences in mathematics classroom while they were students. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 75(3), 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-010-9260-7
Berger, N., Mackenzie, E., and Holmes, K. (2020). Positive attitudes towards mathematics and science are mutually beneficial for student achievement: A latent profile analysis of TIMSS 2015. The Australian Educational Researcher, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-020-00379-8
Berkowitz, T., Gibson, D. J., & Levine, S. C. (2021). Parent math anxiety predicts early number talk. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2021.1926252
Blanca Mena, M. J., Alarcón Postigo, R., Arnau Gras, J., Bono Cabré, R., & Bendayan, R.(2017). Non-normal data: Is ANOVA still a valid option?. Psicothema, 2017, 29 (4) p. 552–557. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2016.383
Blömeke, S., Dunekacke, S., & Jenßen, L. (2017). Cognitive, educational and psychological determinants of prospective preschool teachers’ beliefs. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(6), 885–903. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2017.1380885
Boyd, W., Foster, A., Smith, J., & Boyd, W. E. (2014). Feeling good about teaching mathematics: Addressing anxiety amongst preservice teachers. Creative Education, 5(04), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.54030
Brown, E. T. (2005). The influence of teachers’ efficacy and beliefs regarding mathematics instruction in the early childhood classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 26(3), 239–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901020500369811
Brownlee, J., & Berthelsen, D. (2006). Personal epistemology and relational pedagogy in early childhood teacher education programs. Early Years, 26(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575140500507785
Cakiroglu, E. and Isiksal, M. (2009). Preservice elementary teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics. Education and Science, 34(151), 132–139. http://egitimvebilim.ted.org.tr/index.php/EB
Chen, J. Q., McCray, J., Adams, M., & Leow, C. (2014). A survey study of early childhood teachers’ beliefs and confidence about teaching early math. Early Childhood Education Journal, 42(6), 367–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0619-0
Cohrssen, C., Tayler, C., & Cloney, D. (2015). Playing with maths: Implications for early childhood mathematics teaching from an implementation study in Melbourne, Australia. Education 3–13, 43(6), 641–652. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2013.848916
Di Martino, P., & Zan, R. (2010). “Me and maths”: Towards a definition of attitude grounded on students’ narratives. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 13(1), 27–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9134-z
Elliott, L., & Bachman, H. J. (2018). SES disparities in early math abilities: The contributions of parents’ math cognitions, practices to support math, and math talk. Developmental Review, 49, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2018.08.001
Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747890150102
Finlayson, M. (2014). Addressing math anxiety in the classroom. Improving Schools, 17(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480214521457
Fives, H., and Buehl, M. M. (2012). Spring cleaning for the "messy" construct of teachers' beliefs: What are they? Which have been examined? What can they tell us? In K. R. Harris, S. Graham, T. Urdan, S. Graham, J. M. Royer, and M. Zeidner (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology. APA educational psychology handbook, Vol. 2. Individual differences and cultural and contextual factors (p. 471–499). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13274-019
Francis, D. I. C. (2015). Dispelling the notion of inconsistencies in teachers’ mathematics beliefs and practices: A 3-year case study. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 18(2), 173–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-014-9276-5
Geist, E. (2015). Mathematics anxiety and the "mathematics gap": How attitudes toward mathematics disadvantages students as early as preschool. Education, 135(3), 328–336. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/prin/ed/
Gerde, H. K., Pierce, S. J., Lee, K., & Van Egeren, L. A. (2018). Early childhood educators’ self-efficacy in science, mathematics, and literacy instruction and science practice in the classroom. Early Education and Development, 29(1), 70–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1360127
Gresham, G. (2007). A study of mathematics anxiety in preservice teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(2), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0174-7
Gresham, G. (2018). Preservice to Inservice: Does mathematics anxiety change with teaching experience? Journal of Teacher Education, 69(1), 90–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117702580
Gresham, G., and Burleigh, C. (2019). Exploring early childhood preservice teachers' mathematics anxiety and mathematics efficacy beliefs. Teaching Education, 30(2), 217 241. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2018.1466875
Hamilton, M. (2018). Pedagogical transitions among science teachers: How does context intersect with teacher beliefs? Teachers and Teaching, 24(2), 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2017.1367658
Hannula, M. S. (2002). Attitude towards mathematics: Emotions, expectations and values. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 49(1), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016048823497
Hine, G. S. (2015). Strengthening preservice teachers' mathematical content knowledge. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 12(4), 5–19. https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol12/iss4/5
Hoffman, B. (2010). “I think I can, but I’m afraid to try”: The role of self-efficacy beliefs and mathematics anxiety in mathematics problem-solving efficiency. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(3), 276–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.02.001
Hopko, D. R., Mahadevan, R., Bare, R. L., & Hunt, M. K. (2003). The abbreviated Mathematics anxiety scale (AMAS) construction, validity, and reliability. Assessment, 10(2), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191103010002008
Jameson, M. M., & Fusco, B. R. (2014). Math anxiety, math self-concept, and math self-efficacy in adult learners compared to traditional undergraduate students. Adult Education Quarterly, 64(4), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713614541461
Jiang, S., Simpkins, S. D., & Eccles, J. S. (2020). Individuals’ math and science motivation and their subsequent STEM choices and achievement in high school and college: A longitudinal study of gender and college generation status differences. Developmental Psychology, 56(11), 2137. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001110
Kul, U., & Celik, S. (2017). Exploration of preservice teachers' beliefs in relation to mathematics teaching activities in classroom-based setting. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 3(1), 245–257. www.ijres.net
Kunter, M., Klusmann, U., Baumert, J., Richter, D., Voss, T., & Hachfeld, A. (2013). Professional competence of teachers: Effects on instructional quality and student development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 805–820. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032583
Lake, V. E., & Kelly, L. (2014). Female preservice teachers and math: Anxiety, beliefs, and stereotypes. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 35(3), 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2014.936071
Limardo C, Sweeney T and Taylor L (2016) Early learning career pathways initiative: credentialing in the early care and education field. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetopearlylearningchallenge/pathways/elpathways.pdf
Linder, S. M., & Simpson, A. (2018). Towards an understanding of early childhood mathematics education: A systematic review of the literature focusing on practicing and prospective teachers. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(3), 274–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949117719553
Lortie, D. (1975). School teacher: A sociocultural study. In Borg, M.(2004)," The apprenticeship of observation." ELT Journal, 58(3), 274.
Lui, A. M., & Bonner, S. M. (2016). Preservice and in-service teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional planning in primary school mathematics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.015
Maloney, E. A., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). Math anxiety: Who has it, why it develops, and how to guard against it. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(8), 404–406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.008
Marbán, J. M., Palacios, A., and Maroto, A. (2020). Enjoyment of teaching mathematics among preservice teachers. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00341-y
McCleod, D. B. (1987). Beliefs, attitudes and emotions: Affective factors in mathematics learning. In: Bergeron, J. C., Herscovics, N. and Kieran, C. (Eds), Psychology of Mathematics Education, PME XI Proceedings of the eleventh international conference (Vol. 1), pp. 170–182.
Mizala, A., Martínez, F., & Martínez, S. (2015). Preservice elementary school teachers’ expectations about student performance: How their beliefs are affected by their mathematics anxiety and student’s gender. Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.04.006
Novak, E., & Tassell, J. L. (2017). Studying preservice teacher math anxiety and mathematics performance in geometry, word, and non-word problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences, 54, 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.01.005
O’Leary, K., Fitzpatrick, C. L., & Hallett, D. (2017). Math anxiety is related to some, but not all, experiences with mathematics. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2067. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02067
Olson, A. M., & Stoehr, K. J. (2019). From numbers to narratives: Preservice teachers experiences’ with mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety. School Science and Mathematics, 119(2), 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12320
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307–332. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307
Parks, A. N., & Wager, A. A. (2015). What knowledge is shaping teacher preparation in early childhood mathematics? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36(2), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2015.1030520
Pecker, M., & Ulu, M. (2018). The effect of preservice mathematics teachers’ beliefs about mathematics teaching-learning on their mathematics teaching anxiety. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 249–264.
Perry, B., & MacDonald, A. (2015). Educators’ expectations and aspirations around young children’s mathematical knowledge. Professional Development in Education, 41(2), 366–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2014.990578
Petig, A. C., Austin, L. J., Whitebook, M., and Dean, A. (2018). A critical calculation: supporting the inclusion of mathematics in early childhood degree programs. Berkley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkley.
Ren, L., & Smith, W. M. (2018). Teacher characteristics and contextual factors: Links to early primary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21(4), 321–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9365-3
Ryan, S., Whitebook, M. and Cassidy, D. (2014). Strengthening the math-related teaching practices of the early care and education workforce: Insights from experts. Berkley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley.
Saran, R., and Gujarati, J. (2013). Moving toward positive mathematics beliefs and developing socio-mathematical authority: Urban preservice teachers in mathematics methods courses. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, 9, 100–111. http://aera-ultr.org
Schraw, G. (2013). Conceptual integration and measurement of epistemological and ontological beliefs in educational research. ISRN Education, 2013, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/327680
Simpson, A., & Linder, S. M. (2014). An examination of mathematics professional development opportunities in child care settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(5), 335–342.
Stipek, D. (2013). Mathematics in early childhood education: Revolution or evolution? Early Education and Development, 24(4), 431–435. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.777285
Stipek, D. J., Givvin, K. B., Salmon, J. M., & MacGyvers, V. L. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(2), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(00)00052-4
Swars, S., Hart, L. C., Smith, S. Z., Smith, M. E., & Tolar, T. (2007). A longitudinal study of elementary preservice teachers’ mathematics beliefs and content knowledge. School Science and Mathematics, 107(8), 325–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2007.tb17797.x
Thomson, M. M., & Gregory, B. (2013). Elementary teachers’ classroom practices and beliefs in relation to US science education reform: Reflections from within. International Journal of Science Education, 35(11), 1800–1823. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.791956
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor. (2020). Labor force statistics from the Current Population Survey. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm
Whyte, K., Stein, A., Kim, D., Jou, N., & Coburn, C. (2018). Mathematics in early childhood: Teacher educators’ accounts of their work. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 9(3), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2017.1388306
Woodard, T. (2004). The Effects of Mathematics Anxiety on Post-Secondary Developmental Students as Related to Achievement, Gender, and Age. Inquiry, 9(1), 1–5. http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Beisly, A., Evans, S. & Latta, L. Process over product: associations among math anxiety, feelings about math, and instructional beliefs in early childhood preservice teachers. J Math Teacher Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-023-09613-3
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-023-09613-3