Early childhood educators’ math anxiety and its relation to their pedagogic actions in Swedish preschools

The study investigates how mathematical anxiety among kindergarten teachers in Swedish kindergartens affects the frequency of maths-related educational activities with children. The study also seeks to uncover whether higher mathematical anxiety among kindergarten teachers results in fewer conversations and teaching activities involving mathematical concepts such as counting, patterns and geometry.

The results show that kindergarten teachers with a higher degree of mathematical anxiety teach maths less frequently and engage in fewer conversations about mathematical topics such as counting and geometry with the children. In particular, the frequency of teaching is affected in contexts such as group sessions, teaching situations, and excursions. Differences between educated kindergarten teachers and assistants were observed, where mathematical anxiety had a greater impact on the kindergarten teachers’ practices. The study highlights the need to address mathematical anxiety among kindergarten teachers as part of the work to strengthen mathematics education in kindergartens.

The study used an electronic questionnaire to map mathematical anxiety and the frequency of educational activities among 352 kindergarten teachers in Sweden. The questionnaire included an adapted version of the ‘Math Anxiety Scale for Teachers’ and questions about the frequency of maths-related activities. The data were analysed using correlation and regression analyses to identify correlations between mathematical anxiety and educational practices.

Galeano, L., Fawcett, C., Forssman, L., & Gredebäck, G. (2024). Early childhood educators’ math anxiety and its relation to their pedagogic actions in Swedish preschools. Journal of Cognition and Development, 25(1), 100–126.

Online year: 2023

Issue year: 2024

Review year: 2023