“I Felt Sad, Stupid, and Annoyed”: Characterising Primary PreService Teachers’ School Mathematics Experiences Through Achievement Emotions

Oct 15, 2026

“I Felt Sad, Stupid, and Annoyed” examines how primary pre-service teachers’ past school mathematics experiences shape their future teaching capacity through achievement emotions. The study analyzes 266 Australian PSTs’ written recollections using Pekrun’s Achievement Emotions Framework, identifying that negative memories evoke shame and anxiety, while positive memories reflect enjoyment. Emotions are interpreted through self-efficacy and mathematical wellbeing to explain lasting impacts and inform support for PSTs’ self-efficacy, confidence, effectiveness, and flourishing as mathematics educators.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review and Theoretical Framing

Achievement Emotions

“I Felt Sad, Stupid, and Annoyed”: Characterising Primary PreService Teachers’ School Mathematics Experiences Through Achievement Emotions Tracey Muir Australian Catholic University [tracey.muir@acu.edu.au](tracey.muir@acu.edu.au) Julia Hill RMIT [julia.hill2@RMIT.edu.au](julia.hill2@RMIT.edu.au) Chrissy Monteleone Australian Catholic University [chrissy.monteleone@acu.edu.au](chrissy.monteleone@acu.edu.au) Kerrie Petersen Australian Catholic University [kerrie.petersen@acu.edu.au](kerrie.petersen@acu.edu.au) Sharyn Livy Monash University [sharyn.livy@monash.edu](sharyn.livy@monash.edu) Karen McDaid Australian Catholic University [karen.mcdaid@acu.edu.au](karen.mcdaid@acu.edu.au) Matt Sexton Australian Catholic University [matt.sexton@acu.edu.au](matt.sexton@acu.edu.au) Wade Naylor Australian Catholic University [wade.naylor@acu.edu.au](wade.naylor@acu.edu.au) Pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) past mathematics experiences shape their future teaching. We analysed 266 Australian PSTs’ written recollections of positive and negative school mathematics experiences using Pekrun’s Achievement Emotions Framework. Negative memories evoked shame (41%) and anxiety (32%), while positive ones reflected enjoyment (50%). We interpreted these emotions through the lenses of self-efficacy and mathematical wellbeing to understand how PSTs' emotional experiences might influence their capacity to flourish as mathematics educators. Findings reveal the lasting impact of negative experiences and the importance of supporting PSTs ’ self-efficacy. Introduction Mathematics anxiety is a common issue among primary preservice teachers (PSTs), often linked to negative past experiences and the belief that being good at mathematics equates to being inherently smart (Jablon Stoehr, 2017; Lo, 2021) . These perceptions can lower PSTs’confidence in both learning and teaching mathematics. The findings ofthis study aim to deepen understanding of how PSTs’ mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs develop, in turn helping teacher educators consider how to design supportive programs that build PSTs’ selfefficacy, confidence and effectiveness for teaching mathematics as well as their mathematical wellbeing. By examining the interplay between achievement emotions, self-efficacy, and mathematical wellbeing, this study provides a holistic understanding of how PSTs' past experiences shape their future capacity to flourish as mathematics educators. Past learning experiences in mathematics create a filter through which PSTs view what they learn during their initial teacher education programs (Bloomfield, 2010) . Negative experiences when learning mathematics, including poor grades, uninspiring instruction or unsupportive teachers, can contribute to anxiety, negative attitudes and lower self-efficacy (Mazana et al., 2019). These experiences also undermine mathematical wellbeing in PSTs, which encompasses feeling positive and functioning optimally when learning or teaching mathematics (Hill et al., 2021) . Conversely, positive school experiences of learning mathematics can positively impact PSTs’ engagement with mathematics during teacher education programs (Chalkiadaki, 2018) . When PSTs encounter positive mathematics learning experiences, they tend to be more motivated and exert greater effort to persist with challenges, which increases the likelihood of increasing their self-efficacy for teaching mathematics (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020) . In recognition of the importance of considering prior experiences in influencing mathematical wellbeing and self-efficacy, our study aimed to address the following research questions: How do PSTs describe positive and negative experiences with learning school mathematics? What positive and negative emotions are evident in PSTs’ descriptions of their learning experiences? Literature Review and Theoretical Framing This study drew upon literature and theories related to achievement emotion

FAQs

What data and framework does the study use to analyze PSTs’ emotions?

The study analyzes 266 Australian pre-service teachers’ written recollections and uses Pekrun’s Achievement Emotions Framework to categorize emotions linked to mathematics experiences.

Which emotions are most associated with negative versus positive school mathematics experiences?

Negative memories evoke shame (41%) and anxiety (32%), while positive experiences reflect enjoyment (50%).

How do the findings connect achievement emotions to PSTs’ teaching development?

The emotions are interpreted through self-efficacy and mathematical wellbeing, showing that negative experiences can have lasting effects and that supporting PSTs’ self-efficacy is important for their future flourishing as mathematics educators.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan