Chapter 1

Introduction

My personal experience has been that most people don't like

math. Have you ever noticed the reactions of students or even adults

when you discuss mathematics? Invariably, you will get a negative

reaction. Some will roll their eyes or let out a sigh. They give many

reasons. It's too hard, I'm not good at math, or why do I need math

are a few of the responses you will get. Where does this attitude

come from? Is it something that can be changed? First we need to

know why. This study will explore the reasons why students dislike

math.

There have been several studies on math anxiety (Ho 2000; Ma

2009; Suinn 1973 et a 鱬). These studies have attempted to describe

the effect math anxiety has on testing and achievement. But what is

its source? Could it be that the teacher’s attitude affects their

students? Could be that elementary teachers need more content

area knowledge (Murphy 2006) or maybe they believe teaching

mathematics will be easy and become frustrated when it proves

more difficult (Ambrose 2004). Maybe some teachers don’t like

mathematics themselves and that attitude passes to the students.

 Another reason may be that the student got behind and because

of the sequential nature of mathematics was unable to catch up.

Maybe, it has to do with the difficulty of a particular grade level.

Maybe the students don’t why understand they will need

mathematics. They don’t see the real world connections. Obviously,

there are many possibilities. This study will focus on what the

students think about mathematics.

Problem of the study

Having a negative attitude toward mathematics may be related

to achievement of math students. If students don't like math they

may be able to struggle through the classes and make good grades,

but the long-term effect will probably be that they will not pursue the

subject any more than they have to. They will certainly not pursue a

career in a math related field. If we can determine the reasons for

this dislike, then teachers can take steps to change the student’s

attitude.

Purpose

This study will seek to determine what student attitudes are

about mathematics and in particular, if they dislike math, is there a

common reason.

This study will seek these answers from the students themselves.

What do they think about mathematics? What do they attribute a

dislike of mathematics. Is the reason something that can be

addressed by schools?

Significance

Educators and government officials have been seeking to find

ways to increase student achievement in mathematics and science.

With many students having a dislike of mathematics, it will be

difficult to have meaningful change in achievement. If a particular

reason can be found for this dislike, then it may be possible to

intervene in a timely manner.

Definitions

Dislike in this study will be defined in terms of a negative attitude

toward mathematics. This attitude can be from anxiety, a negative

experience in the classroom, a lack of success in math, or that the

student perceives no real world connection or uses for mathematics.

Limitations
 The survey used for this study was created by the researcher, and

was not validated. The students will take the survey during their

math class and may feel some pressure to respond positively. This

may be from their parents, the teacher or from their peers. Since the

sample is eighth grade students their maturity level may prevent

them from taking the survey seriously or they may find it boring. In

an attempt to minimize this, the researcher will be present and

administer the survey and attempt to explain its importance and

emphasize its confidentiality.

Summary

This chapter has introduced and defined the problem to be

investigated. Namely, what are the reasons students dislike math?

The current focus in education is on achievement in math and

science. There seems to be a widespread dislike of mathematics.

Where does this attitude come from? Can it be changed? This study

seeks to find answers to these questions from the students

themselves. Chapter II will examine research related to the subject.

Chapter III will describe the details of the study. Chapter IV will

discuss the results and chapter V will summarize the findings.