Examines math anxiety programs in Virginia's colleges, reviewing institutional characteristics, student selection and assessment, and program objectives, emphases, and methods. Concludes that math anxiety programs are few in number, rarely used in remediation, inconsistently defined, and share no single concept of the nature of math anxiety or…

This article announces a study by the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) concerning the public image of mathematics and mathematicians. Discusses the general frameworks, features, and methods of the popularization of mathematics. (YP)

Considers the way in which games can be woven into the curriculum to help pupils practice their mental skills in a situation quite different from the traditional mental test and in a way which reduces the pressures felt by pupils. (ASK)

Investigated mathematics teacher practices that contributed to classroom psychological environments on the first days of school. Student and teacher data indicated that teachers' early classroom environments were either: supportive, nonsupportive, or ambiguous. Teachers' motivational and organizational discourse patterns near the end of the year…

This paper reports the results of a study conducted by the instructor of a pre-service mathematics methods course for the purpose of improving her teaching practice and course design. Novice teachers who graduated from the course were questioned about their math anxiety levels and use of approaches and strategies in their own math programs. They…

This book about mathematics anxiety focuses on many factors in society that bring about fear and avoidance of mathematics, and the influence of these factors on various groups in the population. The book begins with several stories of people who have suffered from or overcome mathematics anxiety, followed by a chapter giving reasons for overcoming…

This study attempts to identify relative contributions of certain attitudinal variables to mathematics avoidance. The primary objective was to discover the most salient predictors of mathematics avoidance (MA). Nine Fennema and Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (1960) were revised for use with a general population, and a similarly worded…

This study was designed to investigate mathematics performance as a function of anxiety, with examination for a relationship between mathematics and test anxiety and any sex differences on mathematics anxiety. The effects of evaluative stress on high and low mathematically anxious subjects was examined, and preliminary effort was made to…

The role of affect in course enrollment decisions and achievement are examined. First, sex differences in the affective reactions believed to mediate student's course enrollment decisions are examined for magnitude and consistency. Then, to gain a better sense of their relative influence in the achievement process, the importance of these…

This study indicates that eighth graders have higher mathematics anxiety than eleventh graders, and boys have higher mathematics anxiety than girls. Eighth-grade classes with high mathematics anxiety tend to have high motivation in mathematics, but tend to see mathematics as not very useful in society. Both grade levels show a positive…

Mathematics is an auspicious discipline for young people of both sexes and all ethnic groups. This booklet aims to help members of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and others to increase future participation of women in mathematics, to better understand their present roles, and to develop a vision of a world with greater equal…

This study investigated 36 mathematics classroom environments that a priori appeared to hold promise as being motivationally effective. Classroom environments from fifth grade through graduate school were selected (N=598 students). In particular, the study measured students' perceived situational interest in the learning environment, individual…

Mathophobia is an irrational and impeditive dread of mathematics. For any of a variety of reasons a student can develop this emotional and intellectual block, making further progress in mathematics and closely related fields very difficult. (Author)

Mathematics success or failure is noted as possibly related to the way in which material is presented rather than to the subject itself. Teachers are encouraged to have pupils complete a questionnaire that is designed to measure their mathematical "state of health." Instructors are told to identify learning styles. (Author/MP)

Of the several barriers to women in the professions--discrimination at entry level, limited opportunities for advanced study, limited advancement, role conflict, and role socialization--lack of motivation to persist in the study of mathematics and mathematics-related subjects is one that can be prevented and cured. (MLW)