Why Didn't the Pre-Arrival Intervention to Combat Maths Anxiety Work?

Mathias, Jinhua; Staddon, Rachel V

Abstract

There has been a growing demand for advanced quantitative skills in UK workplaces in the last twenty years. In response to this, the foundation programme in this study mandates social science, business and biology students to complete a 30-credit mathematics module in their foundation year. However, these students often arrived with grades 4 and 5 at GCSE, and many struggled with the content and suffered from maths anxiety. To combat this, a pre-arrival mathematics intervention was implemented to target these students. The intervention lasted for approximately four weeks and was delivered weekly using the online platform MyMaths, with support from a foundation programme lecturer. The students' maths anxiety was measured in a pre-test post-test design with the 23-item item Mathematics Anxiety Scale-UK (MAS-UK) instrument. Despite the efforts invested, the outcomes did not show any significant reduction in the students' maths anxiety, although written feedback and a focus group showed the intervention eased their cognitive anxiety responses to maths. This study recognises that maths anxiety may be deeply ingrained from childhood and therefore a longer-term strategy rather than a short intervention may be required to permanently reduce students' anxiety around mathematics. Recommendations for practical strategies for tutors are presented.

Citation

Mathias, J., & Staddon, R. V. (2023). Why Didn't the Pre-Arrival Intervention to Combat Maths Anxiety Work?. Journal of the Foundation Year Network, 6, 99-112

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 8, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jul 6, 2024
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 16, 2024
• Journal: Journal of the Foundation Year Network
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Pages: 99-112
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2599586