Mathematics anxiety in apulian students: an exploratory study and didactic proposals

Anxiety towards mathematics is a widespread and pervasive phenomenon among high school students, with significant impacts not only on their academic learning but also on the development of a positive attitude towards the discipline and on their self-esteem. This abstract introduces an ongoing doctoral research project, which aims to investigate the levels and manifestations of mathematics-related anxiety. The study was conducted by administering a structured questionnaire, consisting of ten statements, to a sample of second-year high school students from three distinct Institutes located in the Apulia region, specifically in the metropolitan city of Bari. The results of this investigation strongly and significantly mirror the evidence emerged from the research conducted in 2023 by the Serafico Institute of Assisi and subsequently published in the prestigious journal "Frontiers in Psychology." (Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1185677). This study had already highlighted a clear and concerning correlation between high levels of mathematics anxiety, an intrinsically negative perception of the discipline, and a direct and unfavorable impact on the academic achievement of the students involved. Furthermore, Canadian research conducted by Nathan T.T. Lau and other researchers in 2022 on a huge sample of students from different countries, published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," showed that students from countries with more marked levels of mathematics anxiety tend to confirm lower grades in mathematics, meaning students with greater anxiety tend to perform worse in mathematics. In light of this converging evidence, we believe it is of fundamental importance for the teaching staff to adopt and implement innovative teaching strategies aimed at reducing anxiety in students. Among these, the necessity of actively promoting the creation of a positive and welcoming learning environment, the systematic integration of practical and contextualized activities that make mathematics more tangible and relevant, and the conscious use of techniques that favor the development of emotional intelligence, as theorized and promoted by Daniel Goleman (1998), are highlighted. In particular, it is crucial that teachers commit to encouraging a growth mindset, intrinsically valuing the learning process rather than just the final result, and providing constant and personalized emotional support to students. Adopting such a pedagogical approach, also geared towards curiosity and even the search for new mathematical relationships and concepts, can substantially contribute to improving students' general attitude towards mathematics and, consequently, make the entire teaching-learning process more effective, inclusive, and rewarding for everyone, both students and teachers.