Reframing mathematics anxiety through equity and emotional support: A four-pillar conceptual framework
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mathematics anxiety is associated with lower achievement, avoidance and restricted participation, yet it is often addressed primarily through individual coping strategies. This conceptual synthesis reframes mathematics anxiety as a classroom-mediated affective and equity concern. Seven topic-specific Scopus searches identified 2,688 records, which were reduced to 1,485 unique publications and examined alongside foundational and policy sources. The synthesis integrates cognitive, pedagogical, sociocultural and equity-oriented evidence into four analytically distinct but conditionally interacting classroom conditions: agency-supportive participation, instructional clarity and formative support, adaptive mathematical beliefs and self-regulation, and equitable belonging and emotional safety. Technology is positioned as a conditional cross-cutting enabler. The framework specifies mechanisms, interactions, boundary conditions, and testable propositions, while distinguishing established associations from evidence of direct intervention. It offers a theoretically explicit basis for classroom inquiry, teacher development and future empirical testing.
Author: Mbazima Amos Ngoveni
Institution: University of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225573207