Teacher Practices and Classroom Interventions for Reducing Mathematics Anxiety in Secondary Education: A Literature Review

Mathematics anxiety has been a formidable problem in primary education in China, with the high expectations in mathematics alongside the issues of academic pressure, examination demands and student wellbeing. The literature review is a critical examination of the teacher practices and classroom interventions that can help in alleviating mathematics anxiety in secondary-school students with specific reference to changing educational policy situation in China. Using a secondary qualitative approach, relevant scholarly literature and educational policy documents were thematically analysed. The results have shown that teacher backing, formative evaluation, teaching scaffolding, mathematics self-efficacy, constructive feedback and a psychologically secure classroom environment could alleviate anxiety through enhancing perceived competence as well as perceived control in students. Nevertheless, interventions are conditional and policy intervention like Double Reduction does not necessarily remove psychological pressure. The review outlines the necessity of incorporating the anxiety reduction into the everyday mathematics programs, teacher development and school wellbeing interventions.