Studying preservice teacher math anxiety and mathematics performance in geometry, word, and non-word problem solving

Research shows that mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement present a challenge for many educators, particularly elementary school teachers who usually have lower mathematics content knowledge and higher math anxiety levels than average college students. This study investigated education majors' cognitive abilities and mathematics perceptions that affect their mathematics performance in geometry, word problem-solving, and non-word problem-solving. We examined relationships between mathematics problem-solving and math anxiety in each of the three mathematical domains as a function of working memory (WM), spatial ability, and attitudes toward learning mathematics. Math anxiety, WM, and spatial ability explained 62% of the variance in student overall mathematics performance with math anxiety being the highest (negative) predictor. Although relationships between math anxiety and mathematics performance varied by mathematical domain, the negative effects of math anxiety were equally detrimental in each of the three mathematical domains, even after controlling for the effects of WM performance and spatial ability.