The impact of coaching on primary teachers’ understanding of mathematics anxiety and their confidence in supporting children with mathematics anxiety

Source abstract

It has been suggested that coaching develops teachers’ ability to apply knowledge and skills in practice, supports teachers in feeling that they are working effectively, fosters the development of their reflective practice, and ultimately leads to an increase in student attainment and engagement. It is believed that mathematics anxiety (MA) stems from children and young people’s (CYP’s) negative prior experiences and that teachers influence these CYP’s MA, so that improving teachers’ understanding and confidence in addressing MA is crucial for reducing the prevalence in CYP. This study explored the impact of coaching, which aimed to deepen primary teachers’ understanding of MA, increase their confidence in supporting children with MA, and enable them to develop their teaching practices and implement strategies within a reflective context. A mixed methods approach was employed in this study to evaluate responses from eleven primary school teachers across four schools in South-West England; feedback was collected through questionnaires, coaching notes, and recordings of coaching sessions. Descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis were employed to assess the data. Results indicated that coaching was associated with increases in teachers’ understanding and confidence and enabled them to apply strategies more practically in their classrooms. This study aligns with existing literature, indicating that combined training and coaching yield better outcomes than training alone, as they foster reflection and promote practice change.