What can teachers of maths do to help more pupils feel confident? This article looks at what the current research says and suggests what teachers should focus on to best support pupils.
We have all met pupils (and adults!) who are quick to share concerns about whether they can take on mathematical tasks. Some people even experience 'hot' feelings of anxiety just at the thought of it. Curiously, this seems to affect maths more than other subjects.
This feeling that ‘maths is not for me’ can have compounding consequences for pupils. For example, they might begin to put in less effort studying the subject at school, which could in turn affect their grades, followed by their subject choices at A level, which may then limit their career options.
Here are five useful things the research tells us, which can help maths teachers understand pupils’ lack of confidence – and know what to do about it.
1. People have views of whether they are a ‘maths person’ that are hard to reconcile with data
Pupils’ test scores in English and maths tend to be highly correlated. Those who score high in maths tend to score high in English, and vice versa. However, pupils’ evaluation of their success in English and maths (what researchers call self-concept) are only very weakly correlated (Moller, 2024). In short, people who are slightly worse at maths than English tend to perceive themselves as being considerably worse at maths than English.
2. Differences in self-concept show marked gender inequalities
Boys tend to have considerably higher assessment of their mathematical abilities than girls in a way that is not justified by differences in test scores (Adamecz et al., 2023). This may help explain why there are still large gender differences in subject choices at A level in maths (one in every three pupils are female), physics (one in four female) and computer science (one in five female) (Plaister, 2025).
3. Self-concept affects achievement (as well as the other way round)
Maths test scores and maths self-concept are correlated. But this is chicken-and-egg. Do pupils with low self-concept put in less effort, causing lower test scores? Or do pupils with low test scores look at their grades and conclude that they are not so good at maths?
Research testing the ‘reciprocal model’ suggests that the causation actually goes in both directions at once (Wu et al., 2021). This means that pupils can get into a virtuous cycle (in which knowledge and confidence build on each other) or a vicious cycle (in which the two pull each other downwards).
Improving pupils’ self-concept in the maths classroom is therefore important, particularly for adolescents for whom self-concept seems to have a particularly strong effect on maths test scores (Wu et al., 2021).
4.Teachers who improve test scores a lot are not the same teachers that improve maths self-concept a lot
It is tempting to argue that teachers should help pupils feel confident in maths by simply focusing on effective maths teaching.
But research suggests that this is not the whole picture (Blazar & Kraft, 2017). There is quite a weak relationship between how much individual teachers improve pupil test scores in maths and how much they improve pupils’ self-concept in maths. Indeed, the correlation is only about 0.2. Teachers who improve test scores a lot are not the same teachers that improve maths self-concept a lot.
This suggests that focusing exclusively on improving test scores is missing a trick when it comes to improving maths self-concept. For maximum effect, teachers would be well advised to target both.
5. Distinctive aspects of teachers’ practice support maths self-concept
The extent to which teachers provide ‘emotional support’ is strongly predictive of gains in maths self-concept, though not maths test scores (Blazar & Kraft, 2017). Teachers who provide strong emotional support create a warm and positive tone in the classroom, are sensitive to cues about children’s needs, and are responsive to their ideas. It seems likely this promotes maths self-concept through helping pupils feel a sense of belonging in the maths classroom, though more research is needed.
Interestingly, the absence of errors in teachers’ explanations and mathematical language is also strongly predictive of maths self-concept. Again, while more research is needed, it is plausible that precise expositions from the teacher prevent pupils feeling confused and therefore disengaging from the topic.
What should maths teachers prioritise?
Improving pupils’ maths self-concept should be a priority for teachers. Besides helping pupils learn more about maths, teachers should also focus on precise exposition of mathematical ideas, as well as the more relational aspects of teaching.
There is still need for new research to precisely characterise teaching that helps develop confident and capable young mathematicians. Ambition Institute’s research team has a range of ideas for research in this area that could help further our understanding on this important topic.
If you have ideas to share or are interested in supporting further research, please contact us at [email protected] - we would welcome your thoughts and collaboration.
References
- Adamecz-Völgyi, A., Jerrim, J., Pingault, J. B., & Shure, N. (2023). Overconfident boys: The gender gap in mathematics self-assessment. IZA Discussion Paper No. 16180.
- Blazar, D., & Kraft, M. A. (2017). Teacher and teaching effects on students’ attitudes and behaviors. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(1), 146-170.
- Möller, J. (2024). Ten years of dimensional comparison theory: On the development of a theory from educational psychology. Educational Psychology Review, 36(3), 82.
- Plaister, N. (2025). Has gender balance in A-Level physics improved? FFT Education Datalab.
- Wu, H., Guo, Y., Yang, Y., Zhao, L., & Guo, C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the longitudinal relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), 1749-1778.
