Confidence in Maths

Maths is part of everyday life—and feeling confident in it makes a big difference. At Pearson, we’re committed to helping every student thrive. By listening to teachers, students and families, we’ve gained a deeper understanding of the challenges around maths anxiety.

That’s why we equip teachers with the right tools and support to build confidence in every classroom.

Read our latest Maths Anxiety Guide

Download your copy of Tackling Maths Anxiety

A guide to building more confident and resilient students, teachers and communities.

Download the guide

Understanding maths anxiety

Maths anxiety is a fear of numbers that can affect how learners perform. It can range from mild tension to a strong fear—and it’s something people of all ages experience, even into adulthood.
While maths anxiety is widespread issue in today’s society it shouldn’t be accepted as the norm, as with the right training and teaching approaches, it can also be permanently overcome. 

Maths anxiety and gender

“Gender considerations do not feature as much as they should in conversations about maths anxiety. We overlook it in so many areas”.  

Get top tips for closing the gender gap for maths anxiety.

Read the blog

Maths anxiety in the classroom

Dr Thomas Hunt explores how maths anxiety shows up in the classroom—and what schools can do to address it.

Listen to the podcast

Power of Maths Stat-Shot series

Pearson’s Power of Maths Stat-Shot series highlights headline insights into different aspects of maths education based on the views of over 2,000 primary teachers and secondary maths teachers.

View the PDF

Challenging negative representations of maths

Our 2023 Maths roundtable brought together a mix of leading practitioners and thinkers from across education, maths organisations, academia, industry and the third sector. During the discussions one theme stood out: many students believe they simply “can’t do” maths.

It is now culturally acceptable for people to say they just “can’t do” maths, with certain students being impacted by this mindset more than others, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The status quo around the misconception that maths is not for everyone, communicates to learners that it is OK to disengage with the subject. We believe every learner can succeed in maths with the right support.

Fear of maths

“Research has shown that encouraging a classroom culture where exploration and discovery are valued, where testing is not the be-all and end-all, and where it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them, can help develop a positive mindset towards maths”.

Read Fear Factor - ways to remove negative attitudes in maths learners, with Dr Ems Lord,  NRICH

Read the blog

Is maths anxiety just a dislike for maths?

Listen to our latest podcast where Nicola Woodford-Smith and Heidi Kirkland PhD, talk about how teachers can adopt pedagogical strategies to avoid anxiety triggers in their classrooms and dispel the myth that maths anxiety is just a dislike for the subject.

Heidi has recently released a new book, Maths Anxiety; Solve the equation and she talks about the psychological angle that is threaded throughout. 

Listen to the podcast

Maths Anxiety Webinar

Join Bobby Seagull, Maths Teacher, Author and TV Broadcaster, Dr Thomas Hunt, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Derby, and Lucy Chowns, Head of Maths at Pearson, for a discussion on maths anxiety. This hour long discuss

Get access to the webinar

Boosting teacher confidence

Most teachers feel confident supporting students in maths. At Pearson, we’re proud to be part of the math’s support community.

We’re committed to offering the best professional development on the market—supporting both maths specialists and non-specialists with everything they need to teach with confidence. That’s one reason why 95% of schools return to us year after year.  

Want to take your teaching even further? Discover our latest tools for improving maths confidence.