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ERIC Number: ED513587
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec-3
Pages: 35
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Images, Anxieties and Attitudes toward Mathematics
Belbase, Shashidhar
Online Submission
Images, anxieties, and attitudes towards mathematics are common interest among mathematics teachers, teacher educators and researchers. The main purpose of this literature review based paper is to discuss and analyze images, anxieties, and attitudes towards mathematics in order to foster meaningful teaching and learning of mathematics. Images of mathematics are greatly shaped by epistemological and philosophical perspectives of one who views mathematics either as priori or posteriori, absolute or relative, and concrete or nominal. These images as perceived by an individual play a significant role in the development of attitudes towards mathematics in long run. Images of mathematics have possible negative and positive impacts in teaching and learning of mathematics with the subsequent development of attitude toward mathematics as positive or negative (Goolsby, 1988; Ma and Kishor, 1997; & Lakoff and Nunez, 2000). Mathematics anxiety is developed as a result of having a poor image of mathematics due to a general lack of comfort that someone might experience when required to perform mathematically (Wood, 1988), or the feeling of tension, helplessness, and mental disorganization one may have when required to manipulate numbers and shapes (Richardson & Suinn, 1972; Tobias, 1978). In the long run, mathematics anxiety can produce different feelings such as like/dislike (an attitudinal element), happiness/worrisome (a cognitive element), and motivation/fear (an emotional element) (Hart, 1989; Wigfield & Meece, 1988). A theoretical model with different combinations of images, anxieties, and attitudes toward mathematics can be a helpful tool to develop an understanding of the different relationships among them for significant pedagogical implications. (Contains 1 figure.)
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A