Adults' mathematical thinking and emotions: a study of numerate practices

The crisis around teaching and learning of mathematics, and its use in everyday life and work, relate to a number of issues, including: the doubtful transferability of school maths to real life contexts; the declining participation in A level and higher education maths courses; the apparent exclusion of some groups, such as females; and the aversion of many people to maths. This book addresses these issues by considering a number of key problems in maths education and numeracy: differences among social groups, especially those related to gender and social class; the inseparability of cognition and emotion in mathematical activity; the understanding of maths anxiety in traditional psychological, psychoanalytical and feminist theories; and how adults' numerate thinking and performance must be understood in context. This book points to two ways of reconceptualizing current debates in maths education, including its psychological and sociological aspects. The author's findings have practical applications in education and training, such as clarifying problems of the transfer of learning, and of countering maths anxiety. It points to areas for further research in mathematical and numerate thinking and emotion, particularly among adults.