Affect and mathematics in young children: an introduction

Mathematics-related affect comprises an individual’s attitudes, beliefs, emotions and motivations towards mathematics. These affective constructs have been widely studied in mathematics education and cognitive psychology and have been shown to be related to cognitive outcomes such as performance on a range of mathematical tasks. However, it is not yet clear how these constructs develop, or how they relate to cognitive factors in young children who are in the early stages of learning mathematics. As such, the current special issue focuses on mathematics-related affect in primary school children aged 4 to 10 years. It brings together five recent empirical studies and two discussant articles looking at the development of attitudes, beliefs, emotions and motivations towards mathematics, and the relations between affective and cognitive factors in these young age groups. In this introductory paper, we provide some brief historical context, followed by a rationale for the special issue, and an overview of its structure and scope. ispartof: Educational Studies in Mathematics vol:100 issue:3 pages:201-209 status: published