Mathematics Phobia: Factors Contributing to Mathematics Phobia among Students

Abstract

Mathematics is the most essential subject for students at every stage. It is helpful in developing critical thinking, logic, reasoning ability and rational thinking among students. But the most significant barrier of mathematics learning is the fear of failure to succeed or poor performance in mathematics. This fear can develop mathematics phobia among students. Mathematics phobia is defined as uneasiness, stress, panic, nervousness and negative feeling at the time of solving mathematics problems. There exist various factors which creates fear of mathematics among students. This paper highlights the various factors contributing to mathematics phobia on the basis of review of literature concentrating on studies related to mathematics anxiety, mathematics phobia and factors contributing to mathematics phobia. 20 papers between the years 2002 to 2023 from the research gate and Google scholar database are reanalyzed to find the factors contributing to mathematics phobia. The review shows that factors contributing to mathematics phobia is resulted from personal factors, educational factors, psychological factors and socio-economic factors.