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Journals / Social Scientific Centered Issues / 2025 / Volume: 7 Issue: 2

Rethinking Mathematics Anxiety: Cognitive, Pedagogical, and Social Dimensions of an Affective Ecosystem

Matematik Kaygısını Yeniden Düşünmek: Duyuşsal Bir Ekosistemin Bilişsel, Pedagojik ve Sosyal Boyutları

Mehmet Koray Serin(KASTAMONU UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF EDUCATION)0000-0003-4104-5902
Pages
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Publication Date
2025-12-26
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Framing MA as a dynamic part of the learning ecosystem provides a holistic view for teacher education and curriculum design.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a common emotional condition that harms students’ learning, performance, and attitudes toward mathematics.
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Key Findings & Data:It highlights three interconnected levels: (1) cognitive–emotional, including beliefs, working memory, and emotion regulation; (2) pedagogical, involving teacher affect, classroom climate, and emotions such as shame; and (3) social–dynamic, focusing on group interactions and emotional contagion.
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Conclusion & Impact:Framing MA as a dynamic part of the learning ecosystem provides a holistic view for teacher education and curriculum design.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Mathematics anxiety · emotion regulation · social dynamics

Abstract

Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a common emotional condition that harms students’ learning, performance, and attitudes toward mathematics. Recent research shows that MA is not only a cognitive issue but also an emotional, pedagogical, and social one. This review adopts an integrative framework that views MA as part of an affective ecosystem. It highlights three interconnected levels: (1) cognitive–emotional, including beliefs, working memory, and emotion regulation; (2) pedagogical, involving teacher affect, classroom climate, and emotions such as shame; and (3) social–dynamic, focusing on group interactions and emotional contagion. MA arises from feedback loops among cognition, teaching, and social relations. Reducing it requires co-regulation that supports the emotional skills of students, teachers, and learning communities. Strategies like mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, and emotionally responsive pedagogy can enhance self-efficacy and psychological safety. Framing MA as a dynamic part of the learning ecosystem provides a holistic view for teacher education and curriculum design.

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Cite This Article

Serin, M. K. (2025). Rethinking Mathematics Anxiety: Cognitive, Pedagogical, and Social Dimensions of an Affective Ecosystem. Social Scientific Centered Issues, Volume: 7 Issue: 2. https://doi.org/10.71249/ssci.1800493

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