Mathematics Anxiety Learning Phenomenon: Adult Learner’s Lived Experience and its Implications for Developmental Mathematics Instruction

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atmire.migration.oldid1340
dc.contributor.advisorBohac Clarke, Veronika
dc.contributor.authorYuen, Chris
dc.date.accessioned2013-09-13T18:15:57Z
dc.date.available2014-03-13T07:00:16Z
dc.date.issued2013-09-13
dc.date.submitted2013en
dc.description.abstractPrevious studies of mathematics anxiety tend to focus on the objective and interobjective data of individual learner’s behaviors. Using Wilber’s Integral Model to identify gaps in research literature, this dissertation examined the life history of six anxious adult learners. The lived experience data from interviews and journal writing collectively disclosed the nature of Mathematics Anxiety Learning Phenomenon (MALP) at left-hand quadrants (subjective and intersubjective), responding to five research questions: (1) What are the learner’s personal beliefs on learning mathematics, on their own abilities in learning mathematics, and on what constitutes mathematics in their eyes? When grouped with other individuals, how do they interact in the learning environment? (2) What are the roadblocks that prevent a learner to succeed in mathematics? What are the manifestations of these roadblocks? (3) What are the underlying cultural beliefs in MALP, and how is the culture passed on to others and is perpetuated within and outside of the classroom? (4) What are the social norms when learners are supporting each other? What is the identity of an adult learner in the mathematics education community? What role does the learner play in the mathematics education discourse? (5) Based on the above, what could one disclose as an integral perspective about MALP and how it is cyclical and perpetual? The data and thematic analyses disclosed MALP through all quadrants of the Integral Model, revealing that MALP is a cyclical and possibly perpetual phenomenon by festering and amplifying anxiety through episodes of learning school mathematics. Findings were consistent with Knowles’ andragogy, showing mathematics anxiety to be a cumulative experience upon which learners retrieve and rely to cope with negativity toward learning. Data were compared to Givvin et al.’s (2011) hypothetical model on how college students learn developmental mathematics. The results demonstrated different paths to anxiety between two types of learners: behavioral (driven by prescribed steps and procedures) versus conceptual (driven by problem solving and logical reasoning).  Inspired by Dehaene’s (2011) idea of overcoming nature’s shortcoming in mathematical abilities through intensive nurturing, the dissertation shapes five instructional implications to foster an integral approach to mathematics education.en_US
dc.description.embargoterms6 monthsen_US
dc.identifier.citationYuen, C. (2013). Mathematics Anxiety Learning Phenomenon: Adult Learner’s Lived Experience and its Implications for Developmental Mathematics Instruction (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26839en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26839
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/954
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyEducation
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectAdult and Continuing
dc.subjectCurriculum and Instruction
dc.subjectMathematics
dc.subjectMathematics
dc.subject.classificationMath Anxietyen_US
dc.subject.classificationDevelopmental Mathen_US
dc.subject.classificationMath Instructionen_US
dc.subject.classificationadult learningen_US
dc.subject.classificationIntegral Theoryen_US
dc.titleMathematics Anxiety Learning Phenomenon: Adult Learner’s Lived Experience and its Implications for Developmental Mathematics Instruction
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Research
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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