Enriching HEI training to help future primary school teachers tackle math anxiety in themselves and their pupils
Mathematics is essential to society, yet student proficiency is declining in Europe. Math anxiety affects 30% of students and 10% of teachers—especially females—negatively impacting math performance and career choices. Our project supports Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by integrating targeted resources into teacher-training programs. This will enhance math education and help prevent math anxiety—an often overlooked but critical issue in teacher training.
Internationally recognized European experts on math anxiety and education will provide HEIs with multilingual, free-to-use, and user-friendly resources, including:
Instruments to measure math anxiety
Cognitive-behavioural interventions to help future teachers address their own math anxiety
A program to address math anxiety in classrooms
A Massive Open Online Course published at the Copernicus College for HEIs to integrate into curricula
The project aims to fill a critical gap in teacher training curricula by raising awareness of math anxiety and provide practical interventions. Strengthening HEI teacher-training programs will ensure that new educators can recognize and address math anxiety early. Embedding these resources into HEI programs will boost educators’ confidence, foster a positive learning environment, and, in turn, improve math competence across Europe.
The project is carried out by an international consortium of four universities:
The project is operated by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System and funded by the European Commission under Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education (KA220-HED), grant ID: 2025-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000360673, in the total amount of 400 000 EUR.