Children may be infected with the fear of math from the teacher

One study showed that the fear of elementary school math teachers could be transmitted to female students.

Math lessons in a class in the UK.Photo: sheffieldhighschool.org.uk.

Although progress has been made in recent years, women have not been able to catch up with men in some areas of science and technology. In response to this situation, the US National Science Foundation asked the University of Chicago to find out how teachers affect children's math ability, AP said.

Students tend to imitate adults of the same gender. Therefore, if girls in grades 1 and 2 are taught by a teacher who is afraid of math, they will tend to think that boys are better at math than girls. That is the judgment of Sian L. Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, USA.

Beilock and his colleagues followed 117 students in grades 1 and 2 (including 52 boys and 65 girls). These children study in many classes and are taught by 17 teachers. Experts ask students to comment on the sentence 'Boys are good at math, girls are good at reading' at the beginning and end of the school year.

17 teachers' fear of math is assessed based on a questionnaire. This questionnaire contains 25 questions about situations that make them feel anxious, such as recounting money in a restaurant bill or solving difficult problems. A test is also designed to assess a student's math proficiency level.

Students' ability to study mathematics is tested in the first three months and the last two months of the school year.

The team found that, in the first few months, students 'ability to study mathematics did not depend on teachers' fear of math. But in the last months of the school year, the more female teachers become concerned about their math skills, the more likely they are to agree with 'Boys who are good at math, good girls to read' . However, the same thing does not happen to male students.

In addition, girls who agree with the above statement often earn lower math scores than those who object. Psychologists believe that universities should adjust their math requirements for elementary pedagogical students.

'If you want the future generation of teachers - especially elementary teachers - to teach students effectively, universities need to pay more attention to developing math skills of elementary and state pedagogical students. their positivity to this subject, 'the team wrote.

Janet S. Hyde, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, appreciated Beilock's research. According to Daily Mail, Hyde conducted a study in 2008 to prove that women have caught up with men in the field of mathematics, but still far behind men in many other fields - such as physics and mechanics. . She said that girls believe that hard-working women will not spend much time and effort on math.

'The fear of math makes girls and adult women dare not to pursue many prestigious jobs and high wages in science and technology,' Hyde said.