Mathematics is the study of measurements, numbers, and space, which is one of the first sciences that humans work to develop because of its great importance and benefit. The origin of the word "mathematics" is in Greek, which means a tendency to learn, and there are many branches of mathematics in science, that are related to numbers, including geometric forms, algebra, and others. Mathematics is a subject that determines individuals’ functionality in any given society. Mathematics can be defined as the science of numbers and space and the language of science and technology. Mathematics is a significant part of human logic and thoughts. It gives an effective way to create mental discipline and increases logical reasoning. Moreover, mathematical knowledge plays an essential role in understanding the concept of other subjects like science, social studies, and even music and art.
Mathematics is the pillar of organized life in the present day. Without numbers and mathematical evidence, we cannot resolve any issues in our daily lives. There are times, measurements, rates, wages, tenders, discounts, claims, supplies, jobs, stocks, contracts, taxes, money exchange, consumption, etc, and in the absence of these sports data, we have to face confusion and chaos. It is an essential requirement in every field of intellectual endeavor and human development to cope with the challenges of life.
Mathematics has become the companion of man and his helper since the beginning of human existence on earth. It is a powerful tool for global understanding and communication that organizes our lives and prevents chaos. Mathematics helps us understand the world and provides an effective way of building mental discipline. It
encourages logical reasoning, critical thinking, creative thinking, abstract or spatial thinking, problem-solving ability, and even effective communication skills. Maths is used in several fields and disciplines. The concepts and procedures of mathematics are used to solve engineering, science, and economics problems.
Mathematics is often considered a difficult subject by many students in school education. Feeling mathematics is difficult for students affects not only their liking of mathematics but also their perseverance, interest, boredom, and self-efficacy beliefs related to mathematics. Fear of mathematics is not only the case of particular places
or persons but it is a global issue. The fear of mathematics is causing the student’s negative attitude towards mathematics and hindrance the learner from focusing on the problem they are tackling. The fear of mathematics also tends to the learner get nervous, especially during the time of the test or examinations, fear clouds their minds and the students could not perform as well. Some of the reasons attributed to the fear of mathematics may develop earlier in the learner and may have several possible causes hereditary, social and environmental. Fear of mathematics may create due to the influence of parents, teachers, classmates, and seniors. In the same way, a negative perception of mathematics also may cause a fear of mathematics. Mathematics, for many students, is no less furious than a demon. Many students feel sleepy as soon as they open the Mathematics book. Their score in mathematics is very less. They just give up saying that they can’t do it. Unfortunately, math avoidance leads to less competency, exposure, and math practice, leaving students more anxious and mathematically unprepared to realize learning goals. This results in Math phobia.
Math Phobia may be defined as a feeling of anxiety that stops one from efficiently tackling mathematical problems. It may be a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance. An individual with math phobia doesn’t necessarily lack ability in mathematics; rather, s/he can't perform to her/his full potential thanks to the interfering symptoms of anxiety. Mathematics phobia or math anxiety can adversely affect the way your child learns and performs in the subject. The root causes of mathematics phobia, curriculum structure, school facilities, instructional techniques, teachers’ teaching performance, use of tools and technology, and evaluation system are the main. In the same way, the lack of proper incentives for mathematics teachers and the negative perception of the students and teachers about mathematics are also important causes. The study has revealed that mathematics phobia exists among students. Mathematics phobia is regarded as a mathematics weakness in students that deals with the psychological dimension of learning. It is also defined as phobia as learned emotional responses and it causes frequent severe and intense anxiety.
Many people have a negative perception of mathematics that it is an extremely hard subject that they cannot master. This negative perception weakens them from focusing on the subject and as a result, they get comparatively less performances on tests or exams. Consequently, fear increases day by day in mathematics and eventually it develops in the form of phobia.
Mathematics phobia can occur due to different causes. like lack of different aspects related to teaching learning like good teacher-student relationship, use of students centered/innovative approach to teaching, counseling, positive attitude towards mathematics, improved mathematics curriculum, breaking down topics into units, application of ICTs in teaching mathematics, etc. can cause mathematics phobia. Thus mathematics phobia is mainly caused by the test and examinations (due to the pressure to perform well), people (individuals, parents, teachers, and peers) due to individual low proficiency, parents’ concept of difficulty, teachers’ poor knowledge delivery and peers negative feeling toward mathematics and nature of mathematics. The following points may be also the cause of mathematics phobia:
Weak teaching method and weak mathematics background
Teachers’ aggressive, stressful, and irritating characteristics
Inability to solve mathematics problems
Bad relationships between a teacher and a student
Inability to solve too many home assignments
Not to understand mathematics in class
Unable to solve mathematical tasks
Use of abusive words by the teacher
Negative attitude towards mathematics
Not able to solve mathematics problem in time
Not to be a child-friendly teaching environment
Mathematics learning difficulty (dyscalculia)
Community Influence (negative perception)
Low self-esteem
Lack of analogies
Mathematics phobia is a real problem that students and teachers are facing today. So, the mathematics teachers and parents especially need to understand the causes and effects of mathematics phobia as well as the ways to help students to overcome it. Different research shows that if teachers, as well as the parents, deal with the mathematics phobic student in time by different way to shift into positive mindset, it is not impossible. So many students may have suffered from mathematics phobia due to the result of several negative experiences and perception in the past. It can be overcome by controlling anxiety, improving mathematics skills and developing positive attitude towards mathematics.
The following steps are the main way forward from mathematics phobia and perhaps find a way to view mathematics in a more positive light.
Reinforce the child’s sense of intelligence and skill in mathematics learning
Create a supportive environment for learning mathematics
Encourage the child to tackle mathematics
Explain to the child about positive uses of mathematics
Familiarize the child with mathematics teaching aids
Make mathematics teaching fun with games and puzzles
Avoid comparing the child’s abilities to others
Increase the use of instructional materials in teaching
Use of innovative and contemporary teaching approaches
Develop and maintain a close student-teacher relationship
Motivate students to treat mathematics positively
Provide access to reference material
Use of modern facilities, devices, and tools
Use of ICT in teaching-learning situation
Make enough effective practice of mathematics.
Math anxiety impacts students as early as the first grade by affecting their working memory. Working memory is like a ‘mental scratchpad’. It is important when we need to keep track of numbers. But this working memory can be disrupted by math anxiety in both elementary and secondary school students. This can lead students with math anxiety to be as much as half a school year behind their peers in math. Even for students who don’t struggle with math anxiety, it’s important to develop positive study habits that will help them as math becomes more complex. Parents have to pay attention to children’s behavior and see if they get upset specifically when they have to do the math. Positive reinforcement is a great way to help a child overcome math phobia. Instead of being negative when they get something wrong, parents should discuss the problems with them and emphasize the aspects that they got correct. Point out the skills that they have mastered and stay positive about the ones that still need some work. Children should be reminded that math skills aren’t learned automatically and that everyone learns at a different rate. While you may not want to allow visual distractions such as the TV or the internet, your child may prefer background music, or to study on the floor supported by pillows instead of sitting at a desk. So children should be allowed to adopt their own way after close observation.
It is important to eliminate the mathematics phobia of the students from the very beginning; otherwise, a simple mathematics phobia may gradually become a serious psychological problem. The student’s support system from home and school should be increased to develop a positive attitude towards mathematics. The more a teacher
understands mathematics phobia the more s/he will be able to prevent it and help the students to overcome it.
“Without mathematics, there’s nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.”
– Shakuntala Devi
“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms: it is about understanding.”
– William Paul Thurston
The author is a regular writer for Good Morning Kashmir. He can be reached at specialachivers78@gmail.com
