A literature review of the emotional, cognitive and behavioral factors involved in the intergenerational association between parental and child math anxiety
Keywords:
attitudes, beliefs, math anxiety, parent, studentAbstract
Math anxiety is defined as a feeling of tension that interferes with the manipulation of numbers or while solving mathematical problems in academic situations or everyday math-related activities. But where does this feeling come from? In order to provide an answer to this question and reach a better understanding of the mechanisms by which math anxiety develops in children, we will analyze math anxiety from the perspective of the social construct it entails. We review the literature on the influence of environmental variables, more precisely of the individuals with whom students may interact in their mathematics learning, such as parents, who play a major role in their children’s learning process. Our main purpose is to investigate the literature on intergenerational effects of math anxiety and to identify the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral factors that intervene in the transmission of math anxiety from parents to children. The second purpose is to review the literture on the mechanisms involved in the transmission of mathematics anxiety from parents to children. We will analyze how parental involvement in doing the math homework influences their children's math anxiety. Finally, we describe our proposal for a cognitive tutoring program aimed to support children and parents in learning and practicing mathematics, which would lead to improved math skills and reduced math anxiety.
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