Children with ‘maths anxiety’ experience rage and despair with some reduced to tears, researchers find

Teachers and parents may have contributed to pupils’ worries

Students risk falling into a ‘vicious circle’ of poor performance, researchers warn (iStock)

Children are experiencing a variety of emotions from rage to despair due to “maths anxiety” – with some reduced to tears and others struggling to breathe, researchers have found.

Maths anxiety – a negative emotional reaction to the core subject – causes fear, physical suffering and behaviour problems among young pupils, according to a University of Cambridge study.

Schools should treat the problem with “real concern” as both primary and secondary school pupils who suffer anxiety linked to maths can fall into a “vicious circle” of poor performance, it warns.

The study, which looks at 1,700 UK pupils aged from eight to 13, alongside 1,000 Italian pupils, says parental pressure and confusing teaching methods can contribute to the development of maths anxiety in a child.

Students in the UK highlighted a general feeling that maths was more difficult than other subjects and that often contributed to their worries, leading to a lack or loss of confidence.

Other common “triggers” for anxiety included poor marks, teasing by classmates and pressure from tests – including Sats, the national tests taken by pupils in year 6.

The transition from primary to secondary school was also cited as a particularly difficult time as pupils said they struggled to cope with the harder work and increased homework.

The report, by the Centre for Neuroscience in Education at Cambridge University, was prompted by a “mathematics crisis” in the UK, the authors say.

A separate report in 2014 found that almost four out of five adults in the UK have low functional mathematics skills compared to less than half of UK adults having low functional literacy levels.

Dr Denes Szucs, co-author of the study, said: “Our findings should be of real concern for educators. We should be tackling the problem of maths anxiety now to enable these young people to stop feeling anxious about learning mathematics and give them the opportunity to flourish.

“If we can improve a student’s experience within their maths lessons, we can help lessen their maths anxiety, and in turn this may increase their overall maths performance.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The biggest problem facing schools in the teaching of maths is the severe shortage of specialist teachers in this subject. This means classes often have to be taught by non-specialists and supply staff.

“These staff often do a good job in difficult circumstances, but it is no substitute for the subject knowledge and continuity provided by subject specialists.”

A spokesperson for the the Department for Education said: “A confident grasp of mathematics at a young age provides the building blocks of numbers and problem solving that can help young people develop the knowledge and skills they need to secure a good job and succeed in whatever path they choose later in life. Maths is also increasingly important as the world becomes more automated – as machines speak the language of maths.

“We have created Maths Hubs across the country to support schools to raise the standard of mathematics education and backed this with £41m funding to scale up mastery mathematics teaching approaches across primary schools. We’re seeing this approach work with an increase in the numbers of pupils meeting the expected standard of numeracy at Key Stage 2 – although the Education Secretary has been clear that these tests should not be a point anxiety for pupils, as their core purpose is to help ensure primary schools are teaching our children the key skills and knowledge in maths that they will need to go on to succeed at secondary school.”