The pre-service teachers' mathematics anxiety related to depth of negative experiences in mathematics classroom while they were students

One of the aims of this study is to examine whether the worst experiences and most troublesome mathematics classroom experience affect mathematics anxiety in pre-service elementary teachers. Another goal is to find out how the causes of their anxiety relate to these negative experiences. The participants were 167 senior elementary pre-service teachers. Three different instruments were used to collect data; Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, Worst Experience and Most Troublesome Mathematics Classroom Experience Reflection Test, and Interview Protocol. The findings show that many pre-service teachers have mathematics anxiety and that the worst experience and the most troublesome mathematics classroom experience have a direct influence on mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers. Also, the majority of instances of participants' mathematics anxiety are caused by the teachers, their behavior or teaching approaches in their past. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.