Chapter 2: Supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Learning by Helping Families Overcome Math Anxiety

The scene described above exemplifies the kinds of mathematics interactions that children of parents with high math anxiety may encounter at home. Small, seemingly mundane exchanges like these can have broad implications for children’s mathematical achievement and their likelihood of pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academic and career paths.

As a cornerstone of the STEM domains, a firm grasp of basic mathematical concepts is a crucial component for success in school, the workplace, and everyday life. Although early mathematical skills are a strong predictor of later mathematical achievement, somewhat surprisingly they are also a strong predictor of later reading achievement—even more so than early reading achievement (Duncan et al., 2007). This relationship between early mathematical skills and later academic success across domains may be explained by the higher order thinking skills necessary for success at mathematics, even during the early childhood years. Unfortunately, in the United States, achievement in mathematics is stagnating—students have not shown significant improvements in mathematics in the past 10 years (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2015), and continue to fall behind their peers in other developed countries, placing 31st among 35 countries on the 2015 PISA test (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016).