Mathematics anxiety is a psychological phenomenon where individuals feel pressure, worry and anxiety about performing mathematical tasks or solving math problems. This can interfere with their ability to learn and do math. Mathematics anxiety develops from a variety of factors like negative experiences in school, parental influence, peer pressure and lack of math skills or understanding. While it affects people of all ages, it is commonly seen in school students, teacher trainees and adults. Reducing and eliminating math anxiety requires identifying its causes, practicing math problems, discussing concepts with others, and developing confidence through mastery of basic skills and concepts. Teachers play a key role by developing a growth mindset about math and transmitting their motivation and enthusiasm to students.

1. The WH of Phenomena of Mathematics Anxiety
What Is It Mathematics Anxiety?
Mathematics anxiety has been defined as the state of feeling pressure and worry that
interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving mathematical problems in a wide
variety of ordinary life and academic solutions. Those who suffer mathematics anxiety may
forget and lose their self-confidence. They also feel that they cannot afford to do activities and
classes that involve mathematics. This phenomena, as can be seen in long run, results phobia
and fear of mathematics where those phobics, have even decided not to take programmes that
require high mathematical skill in their higher educations. Therefore their consideration in
choosing their study fields includes how little mathematics is required among those options
obtained.
Although this problem is catagorised as an emotional problem, rather than an intellectual
problem, but as can be seen, this emotional problem however interferes with a person’s ability in
learning mathematics. Therefore it is also an intellectual problem. Perhaps, not many could
imagine, how far they can possibly go in mathematics field without the mathematics anxiety. But
those suffer this emotional and intellectual problem, had been somehow demotivated by the
mental block to give themselves a try in exploring mathematics deeper and taking the challenge.
As in the immidiate effect that can be seen from those suffer this psychological problem,
their mind can suddenly go blank even while facing simple mathematical problem. Some signs
such as sweating palms, clenched fists, cold sweat, faster heart beat are physical response
affected by mathematics anxiety.
For some people, the degree of pressure they feel towards mathematical work might be
different. They only experience the unpleasant feeling when facing examinations, while in their
life, they are devoted mathematicians. What seemed to be a more critical issue in discussing
mathematics anxiety is perhaps those psychological effects that had been touched as the long-
term effects of mathematics anxiety before, such as becoming mathematics phobic.

2. Why Does It Happen?
The discussion on the causes of mathematics anxiety may include those causes that can
be identified by the people affected. Those people, know exactly when it happened. But for some
people, they do not remember when exactly they got it.
Although this problem discussed may seemed involved many students, be it school
students, primary, secondary, and colleges, but it is also involved teacher. Teachers in primary
school for example, suffer this problem for lack of mathematics foundation, together with the
nature of the subject itself.
The negative perception towards mathematics among teachers, especially the trainees
gives impact to the students. The students have large tendency to hate mathematics as well.
Likewise the teachers with large passion towards mathematics, seeing world mathematically,
talking about mathematical ideas, live with mathematics, are higly likely will produce passionate
students towards mathematics.
It can be said that adults transmit their mathematics anxiety to children. Other than
teachers, the feeling also transmitted by parents. Parents who do not like mathematics also
transmit the feeling to their kids. There are parents who refuse to assist their children with
mathematics homeworks and tell their children that they do not like the subject, the subject is
hard, and so forth. Therefore this kind of destructive excuses demotivate the students especially
primary school children to try mathematics, having patience in understanding the idea, and
develop their enthusiasm towards the knowledge.
People also may have mathematics anxiety because of their past experience. They had
been scolded and embarrassed by their mathematics teachers, or they failed their mathematics
examinations. Students in secondary have mathematics anxiety influenced by their seniors that
said mathematics are difficult in higher form. Those juniors developed their negative perception
about mathematics and planned to give up, while they did not even face and try it!

3. Who Has It?
Mathematics anxiety experienced by children and adults. Among adults, this strain also
involves trainee teachers. This anxiety may be caused by several factors such as lack of strong
mathematics foundation as mentioned before. This situation can be caused by lack of experience,
and because of these, low confidence level among trainee teachers.
Some of them have misperception towards mathematics. There are trainees that see
mathematics as just computations or calculations that relate to numbers and symbols, and
therefore tedious, boring or confusing.
On the other hands, mathematics is seen as problem solving and therefore difficult.
Mathematics also has rules and formulae to be memorised and there is a right way of doing it,
need lots of concentration and practice, and therefore is a hard work.
Those above, eventhough true, but not 100 percent true. Mathematics anyway, should be
related to everyday life instead. Mathematics is a tool in solving problems we face in everyday
life. Therefore, to see the ‘true story’, we interpret mathematical numbers in explaining real
situations. Mathematics as most people do not realise, is a study of patterns and relationships, a
way of thinking, an art, and a language to many knowledge such as physics and economics. But
because of the negative perception, people somehow develop negative attitude towards
mathematics.
Teachers with mathematics anxiety transmit the feeling to students by the way they
conduct their classes and mathematics activities. Therefore school students is another group that
affected by this anxiety. It is even worse, the pressure continues when they persue their studies
into secondary level and university. University students may show discouraging interest in
mathematics in term of the choice of optional modules chosen. They avoid choosing modules
involving lots of mathematical work or they just pass without understanding the idea.
Subesequently, they build the personality as mathematics phobics and become
mathematics phobics parents, transmitting the phobia to kids, and generate the generation of
mathematics anxiety.

4. When It Happens?
Mathematics anxiety can be developed since childhood. Some people realise when
exactly it happened. But for some people, they do not remember when exactly they got it, then
develop the feeling and subconsciously live with it.
Students in school may experience mathematics anxiety due to the method mathematics
is taught in classroom. Some students are shy to ask teacher because somehow, asking seemed
to be an inappropriate behavior in certain culture. Therefore students are not be able to express
their difficulties. This shows that the students will not achieve the understanding they are
expected to achieve as the learning outcome. At the end they will not master mathematical skills
as supposed.
Still in school. Examinations especially public examinations, together with parents’
aspiration and standard create the pressure among students. They are afraid of failing either
because they are shy with other friends, or being scolded by parents, being compared with other
siblings and other friends, or they can be also other internal and external factor not mentioned
here.
Skillful mathematics teachers are capable of bringing mathematics into real life. This
needs a highly motivated teachers that enable to see mathematics in their everyday life, and
making relationship between things happen around them with mathematical concepts.
Those enthusiast teachers transmit their enthusiasm as well to students. Due to this factor,
students will be able to see the relevance of mathematics to their lives. Mathematics, as can be
seen as a tool, have meanings behind the numbers. It is not just a boring meaningless numbers.
But good teachers, and hence good students are capable in interpreting and explaining what the
numbers show. Therefore, mathematics examination anxiety, because still experienced by
excellent students, does not make those students hate the knowledge because they still appreciate
it and use it in life.

5. What/ Who Created It?
People who live in a society that hold bad perception towards mathematics somehow
affect one’s belief towards mathematics. Unless the person is highly motivated, she or he in
contrast takes that as a challenge and proves that she or he can excel in mathematics and feel the
beauty of mathematics. The low motivated people however are affected by the negative public
perception and plan not to even try.
School students can be affected by their seniors’ perception towards mathematics. For
example, those form four students might share with their form two juniors how difficult
additional mathematics is that all of them in the class failed. These destructive opinion,
eventhough is true, but inappropriately shared with students in lower form. The juniors built the
perception and became less confidence and worried before even tried it and faced it on their
own. This mental block distracted their effort to achieve high understanding in additional
mathematics while they may actually have the ability to go beyond what they think they are.
This kind of phobia, together with the peer influence makes additional mathematics even
harder. There may still be students who are motivated to try, but there is no support from
classmates. Some concepts may need discussion, but they have no one to discuss with because
other friends choose to give up. Or they might feel that it is better joining the crowd and not to
care about additional mathematics.
Mathematics examination anxiety also may cause mathematics anxiety. Those people that
experience failure may hate the subjects. Even worse, if they are blamed by teachers and parents
for failing, that makes the pressure become more critical. They later become phobia of numbers.
But there are students who do have examination anxiety, but they love mathematics. They
sometimes do not get good grade, or fail, but that does not make them hating mathematics.
Therefore it comes to the motivation in students and also the way the ideas of mathematics are
taught in class. If the students are able to see the relevance of mathematics to their life, they will
appreciate it. They still use the concept of mathematics in life even they fail in examinations
anyway.

6. How Do You Reduce It?
School and university students with mathematics anxiety may reduce the feeling by
practising more problems. The feeling may due to lack of confidence, therefore exercises help
students to strengthen their understanding. What is important also, checking answers for
exercises. Even better, discuss with friends the solutions and have each other’s opinions
exchanged. By doing these, students may detect their misunderstandings and correct them. This
step helps students not to bring their misunderstandings that they think are true to the next topics
or exercises. Strong understanding in earlier chapter also helps making the next topics
understood better and revision becomes more effective and efficient.
Try to solve more difficult questions if possible. Therefore, because harder problems had
been successfully faced, ones will be more ready and confident in facing the easier problems.
Students that apply study group should share their worries and difficulties to other friends so that
they feel better and their friends may help in strengthening the understanding.
How Do You Eliminate It?
First thing that should be done in eliminating mathematics anxiety is to admit that they
have mathematics anxiety. Only after having this type of awareness ones will be able to reduce
it, and eliminate it. It is necessary to find the cause by mean of reflection and consultation.
For trainee teachers with mathematics anxiety, it is suggested that they solve the
mathematical problems they provide to students and experience the difficulties first before
distributing the problem sheets. This is to make sure that they are ready and confident enough to
answer students’ questions pertaining those problems . These teachers need trust from students to
achive higher level of confidence, and one of the criteria is the capability of answering their
questions.
This method however needs motivation in trainee teachers. It does necessary anyway
that a teacher keeps their motivation high, as motivated students come from motivated teachers.
It is impossible to produce passionate, hardworking, enthusiast students if the teachers do not
develop these characters in them in the first place.