Studying preservice teacher math anxiety and mathematics performance in geometry, word, and non-word problem solving Elena Novak a, ⁎, Janet Lynne Tassell b a School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences, Kent State University, United States b School of Teacher Education, Western Kentucky University, United States abstract article info Article history: Received 24 February 2016 Received in revised form 28 November 2016 Accepted 5 January 2017 Available online xxxx Research shows that mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement present a challenge for many educa- tors, particularly elementary school teachers who usually have lower mathematics content knowledge and higher math anxiety levels than average college students. This study investigated education majors' cognitive abilities and mathematics perceptions that affect their mathematics performance in geometry, word problem- solving, and non-word problem-solving. We examined relationships between mathematics problem-solving and math anxiety in each of the three mathematical domains as a function of working memory (WM), spatial ability, and attitudes toward learning mathematics. Math anxiety, WM, and spatial ability explained 62% of the variance in student overall mathematics performance with math anxiety being the highest (negative) predictor. Although relationships between math anxiety and mathematics performance varied by mathematical domain, the negative effects of math anxiety were equally detrimental in each of the three mathematical domains, even after controlling for the effects of WM performance and spatial ability. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Preservice teachers Math anxiety Mathematics education Working memory Spatial ability 1. Introduction Mathematics anxiety and mathematics performance have received a lot of attention from the research community over the last four decades. Mathematics anxiety is often described as “the apprehension or fear aroused when placed in a situation in which maths must be performed” (Hembree, 1990, p. 34). Mathematics anxiety has consistently been found to inhibit an individual's mathematics performance and attitudes toward mathematics including interest and confidence in learning mathematics. High math anxiety combined with negative attitudes toward mathematics are usually among the major factors that steer people away from participating in mathematics classes and pursuing STEM-related careers. Resent research on student academic success and involvement in STEM disciplines examined the role of elementary teachers in preparing children for STEM careers and influencing their beliefs and attitudes to- ward STEM (Beilock & Maloney, 2015; Lubinski & Benbow, 2006). Teacher's mathematics competence and math anxiety appear to strong- ly correlate with their student's mathematics achievement and fears about mathematics, particularly among girls (Beilock, Gunderson, Ramirez, & Levine, 2010; Hadley & Dorward, 2011). High math anxiety combined with negative attitudes toward mathematics is particularly troubling among education-majors, especially pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs), who usually have the highest math anxiety levels and below average mathematics proficiency among college majors (Hembree, 1990; Rech, Hartzell, & Tephens, 1993). Many education majors, especially PSETs, lack mathematics skills that are necessary for their graduation and employability, which further perpetuates the issue (Ma, 1999). For instance, recent changes in the Praxis Core math exam, a required competency examination in mathematics for prospec- tive teachers, require teacher candidates not only to be able to solve math problems in one particular way but also to demonstrate a deep conceptual understanding and high mathematics competency, which poses considerable challenges for pre-service teachers (Silver, Ghousseini, Gosen, Charalambous, & Strawhun, 2005). Moreover, an increasing emphasis on high-stakes testing and evaluation of teachers by their students' test scores contribute even further to education ma- jors' already high math anxiety levels and negative attitudes toward mathematics. The negative impact of math anxiety among education majors might go well beyond their own mathematics achievement. Highly anxious el- ementary pre-service teachers tend to have lower mathematics teach- ing self-efficacy and generate negative teacher attitudes (Gresham, 2007). Furthermore, math-anxious female elementary school teachers tend to negatively affect mathematics achievement of their female students (Beilock et al., 2010). Psychometric literature clearly shows that mathematics anxiety is closely related to mental processing. Prominent effects of high Learning and Individual Differences 54 (2017) 20–29 ⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242-0001, United States. E-mail address: elannovak@gmail.com (E. Novak). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.01.005 1041-6080/© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Learning and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lindif