UNDERSTANDING MATHS ANXIETY IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS THROUGH A QUALITY OF LIFE FRAMEWORK

Abstract

This article analyzes pre-service primary teachers’ written reflections using the Quality of Life conceptual framework, with its three domains of being, belonging, and becoming, as a lens to elucidate the concepts of identity and projective identity. Data collected via Critical Incident Technique were used to investigate the antecedents of mathematics anxiety as perceived and identified by pre-service teachers. When not addressed, high levels of mathematics anxiety in primary pre-service teachers’ affect their future teaching of mathematics and the achievement of their students. The results show that using the framework contributes to an understanding of primary pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety and its implications for their identity development. The article concludes with recommendations and practical implications.