Positive maths culture

Students often come to maths with strong preconceptions about the nature of mathematics learning and themselves as maths learners. These ideas are shaped by students’ own prior experiences of school maths, biases and stereotypes they may have experienced, and beliefs about maths and maths learning held by significant people in their lives.

Maths biases

Many teachers, parents and students hold maths-gender stereotypes.

There is no biological evidence for gender differences in mathematics ability, but Dersch et al’s (2022) research identified three distinct misconceptions held by many people:

The belief that girls think empathically, and boys think systematically, so boys are on average more talented at maths than girls
The belief that because boys are more talented at maths than girls, they don’t need to make as much effort to achieve equally good grades
The belief that despite the fact that girls on average make more effort, girls are normally less proficient in maths than boys.

Read more about gender issues in maths and find activities you can use with students and staff at these websites:

Department of Education, Victoria (2022) Gender issues in Maths: Activities

Research from the United States shows that students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds can also be impacted by cultural stereotypes; people may associate students with Asian or western heritage with excellence in mathematics, while assuming lower proficiency of black, Latino or indigenous students. Australian teachers and students aren’t immune to racism; they are just as likely to exhibit biases as anyone else. You can read more about racism in Australian schools on RacismNoWay.

Maths stereotypes

Many people view maths as something which you’re either good at, or not - that is, mathematics achievement arises from natural ability. The reality is that just like other learning areas, maths knowledge and skills are developed over time; with effort, practice and persistence, everyone can succeed at maths.

Maths is often invisible or narrowly represented in popular children’s media and when it is portrayed in the general media, it is represented as being irrelevant, boring and only for geeks, while mathematicians themselves are portrayed as highly intelligent but nerdy, socially inept and weird - and primarily male. In fact, mathematics is a diverse field, and there are maths careers that amplify and augment a range of professions.

We can actively support all students to develop constructive maths identities by debunking myths about mathematics and creating maths-positive learning environments in our classrooms and schools.

5 steps to creating a positive maths culture

A positive maths culture actively challenges stereotypes and supports all students to see maths as a creative, inclusive field of study, and themselves as capable, engaged maths learners. Creating maths-positive learning environments can address student disengagement and increase students’ motivation and maths aspirations.

These 5 key steps help develop a positive maths culture: