Math anxiety: the impact on traditionally underserved and marginalized adult female undergraduate students in elementary statistics.

Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20279957
Title:
Math anxiety : the impact on traditionally underserved and marginalized adult female undergraduate students in elementary statistics
Creator:
Amato, Luanne (Author)
Contributor:
Ewell, Sara (Advisor)
Unger, Chris (Committee member)
Dickinson, J. Barry (Committee member)
Language:
English
Publisher:
Boston, Massachusetts : Northeastern University, May 2018
Date Awarded:
May 2018
Date Accepted:
January 26, 2018
Type of resource:
Text
Genre:
Dissertations
Format:
electronic
Digital origin:
born digital
Abstract/Description:
The failure rate in elementary statistics for college students is cited to be as high as fifty percent with math anxiety identified as a chief contributing factor. Females are more prone to math anxiety than their male counterparts, and current research is exploring how a failure in elementary statistics for adult female undergraduate college students results in a higher dropout rate thus negatively affecting representation in the lucrative science, technology, engineer, and mathematical (STEM) careers for the underserved and marginalized female undergraduate population. The researcher advanced prior quantitative studies of research into math anxiety using a qualitative research case study to ask the following questions of administrators, faculty, and adult female students from an inner city four-year college: (a) What factors contribute to math anxiety in a population of female adult higher education students who are disadvantaged simultaneously by gender, race and or/ethnicity, economic status, and educational background as they pursue non-mathematical majors requiring enrollment in an elementary statistics course? (b) How do higher education administrators, faculty, and students believe math anxiety influences performance for a traditionally underserved and marginalized female adult student population in an elementary statistics course? (c) What strategies are identified by higher education administrators, faculty and students to help relieve math anxiety for a traditionally underserved and marginalized female adult student population in an elementary statistics course? Fifteen participants provided insights into the causes and effects of math anxiety offering suggestions regarding how to prevent and disable the harmful effects of math anxiety within the underserved and marginalized female undergraduate population. Major findings outlined are (a) the effect of early childhood stereotypical practices that diminish female competence in mathematical courses in comparison with males; (b) the academic organizations failure to respond adequately to the effects of math anxiety thus encouraging student self-defeating behaviors of procrastination and reluctance to ask for help; (c) recognition of best practices that included faculty education, use of technology, and early identification of at risk students. The recommendations for practice include the adoption of early preparation and retention strategies by college educators and officials to identify and assist at risk students early in their higher education careers and the continuation of qualitative research across a broader spectrum of participants, with the optimal goal of moving closer to fairness and equality in educational achievement across gender to enhance the global economic balance of our society.
Subjects and keywords:
case study
gender
math anxiety
stage environment fit theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17760/D20279957
Permanent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20279957
Use and reproduction:
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