A Study Exploring Exceptional Education Pre-Service Teachers' Mathematics Anxiety

Overview & Synopsis

Fifty-two exceptional education pre-service teachers getting a K-6 endorsement were involved in this study that investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety before and after a mathematics methods course for education majors. The changes were measured with respect to the use of manipulatives and other activities to make mathematics concepts more concrete and meaningful. Data were collected using quantitative and qualitative measures. Pre-service teachers completed a 98-item Likert-type survey. Informal discussions, informal interviews, and questionnaire-guided narrative interviews were conducted with pre-service teachers. Data revealed a statistically significant reduction in mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers (p less than 0.001). Results of the study have implications for teacher education programs concerning the measurement of mathematics anxiety levels among exceptional education pre-service teachers and the determination of specific contexts in which mathematics anxiety can be interpreted and reduced. (Contains 2 tables.)