Psychological Challenges in Fostering Mathematical Thinking: A Systematic Review
Keywords:
mathematical thinking, psychological challenges, mathematics education, systematic review, learning and cognitionAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to systematically identify, synthesize, and conceptualize the psychological challenges that hinder the fostering of mathematical thinking across educational systems.
Methods and Materials: A systematic review methodology was employed following PRISMA guidelines to ensure transparency and rigor in the review process. Searches were conducted in major international databases, including ERIC, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, covering studies published between 1990 and November 2024. A comprehensive search strategy based on predefined keywords related to mathematical thinking and its development was applied. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined to filter relevant studies, focusing on peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, and theses published in English. After identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and quality appraisal, 29 high-quality studies were selected for final analysis. Data were extracted using qualitative content analysis, and codes, subthemes, and overarching themes were developed through iterative comparison and synthesis.
Findings: The synthesis revealed 11 core psychological challenges that significantly constrain the development of mathematical thinking: mathematics anxiety, negative self-concept, weak understanding of abstract concepts, low self-confidence, mathematical learning disorder, low mathematical aptitude, passive thinking, individual cognitive differences, lack of motivation, cognitive barriers, and inability in self-regulation. Inferential analysis indicated that affective challenges (e.g., anxiety and negative self-beliefs) and cognitive-regulatory constraints (e.g., working memory limitations and poor self-regulation) are not isolated factors but interact dynamically to impede reasoning, abstraction, and problem-solving processes essential to mathematical thinking.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that fostering mathematical thinking requires integrated educational approaches that simultaneously address cognitive, affective, motivational, and self-regulatory dimensions, positioning psychological challenges as central determinants rather than peripheral obstacles in mathematics education.
Downloads
References
Abidin, Z., Herman, T., Wahyudin, W., & Farokhah, L. (2025). Bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer with Publish or Perish of computational thinking and mathematical thinking in elementary school. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 4(1). https://ejournal.bumipublikasinusantara.id/index.php/ajsed/article/view/500
Al-Barakat, A. A., El-Mneizel, A. F., Al-Qatawneh, S. S., AlAli, R. M., Aboud, Y. Z., & Ibrahim, N. A. H. (2025). Investigating the role of digital game applications in enhancing mathematical thinking skills in primary school mathematics students. Decision Making: Applications in Management and Engineering, 8(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389008711_Investigating_the_Role_of_Digital_Game_Applications_in_Enhancing_Mathematical_Thinking_Skills_in_Primary_School_Mathematics_Students
AlAli, R., Wardat, Y., & Al-Qahtani, M. (2023). SWOM strategy and influence of its using on developing mathematical thinking skills and on metacognitive thinking among gifted tenth-grade students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, science and technology education, 19(3), em2238. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/12994
Bermejo, V., Ester, P., & Morales, I. (2021). How the language of instruction influences mathematical thinking development in the first years of bilingual schoolers. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 533141. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.533141
Dreyfus, T., & Eisenberg, T. (2012). On different facets of mathematical thinking. In The nature of mathematical thinking (pp. 253-284). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203053270-14/different-facets-mathematical-thinking-tommy-dreyfus-theodore-eisenberg
Er, Z., Artut, P. D., & Bal, A. P. (2023). Developing the mathematical thinking scale for gifted students. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 13(3), 215-227. https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.13.03.23
Ernest, P. (2002). Recent developments in mathematical thinking. In Thinking through the curriculum (pp. 113-134). https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203012161-7/recent-developments-mathematical-thinking-paul-ernest
Fernández, C., Sánchez-Matamoros, G., Valls, J., & Callejo, M. L. (2018). Mirar profesionalmente el pensamiento matemático de los estudiantes: caracterización, desarrollo y contextos. Avances De Investigación En Educación Matemática(13), 39-61. https://doi.org/10.35763/aiem.v0i13.229
Fraivillig, J. L., Murphy, L. A., & Fuson, K. C. (1999). Advancing children's mathematical thinking in everyday mathematics classrooms. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 30(2), 148-170. https://doi.org/10.2307/749608
Fyfe, E. R., Matz, L. E., Hunt, K. M., & Alibali, M. W. (2019). Mathematical thinking in children with developmental language disorder: The roles of pattern skills and verbal working memory. Journal of Communication Disorders, 77, 17-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2018.11.001
Gelman, R. (2000). The epigenesis of mathematical thinking. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(99)00048-9
Ginsburg, H. P., Cannon, J., Eisenband, J., & Pappas, S. (2006). Mathematical Thinking and Learning. In Blackwell handbook of early childhood development (pp. 208-229). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470757703.ch11
Ginsburg, H. P., Klein, A., & Starkey, P. (1998). The Development of Children's Mathematical Thinking: Connecting Research with Practice. In Handbook of child psychology: Child psychology in practice (5th ed., pp. 401-476). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-03131-007
Goos, M., & Kaya, S. (2020). Understanding and promoting students' mathematical thinking: a review of research published in ESM. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 103(1), 7-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-019-09921-7
Hannah, J., Stewart, S., & Thomas, M. (2016). Developing conceptual understanding and definitional clarity in linear algebra through the three worlds of mathematical thinking. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA, 35(4), 216-235. https://doi.org/10.1093/teamat/hrw001
Hannula, M. S. (2011). The structure and dynamics of affect in mathematical thinking and learning. In Cerme 7 (pp. 34-60). University of Rzeszów. https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/publications/the-structure-and-dynamics-of-affect-in-mathematical-thinking-and/
Harel, G., & Sowder, L. (2005). Advanced Mathematical-Thinking at Any Age: Its Nature and Its Development. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 7(1), 27-50. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0701_3
Hoghoughi, S., & Salehi, K. (2019). Capacities of narrative research method in the Field of Higher Education Studies. Higher Education Letter, 12(47), 33-51. https://journal.sanjesh.org/article_37138.html?lang=en
Jacobs, V. R., Empson, S. B., Jessup, N. A., Dunning, A., Pynes, D., Krause, G., & Franke, T. M. (2024). Profiles of teachers' expertise in professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 27(2), 295-324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-022-09558-z
Jordan, N. C., Hanich, L. B., & Uberti, H. Z. (2003). Mathematical thinking and learning difficulties. In The development of arithmetic concepts and skills: Constructing adaptive expertise (pp. 359-383). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-04942-013
Kargar, M., Tarmizi, R. A., & Bayat, S. (2010). Relationship between mathematical thinking, mathematics anxiety and mathematics attitudes among university students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 537-542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.074
Lutfiyya, L. A. (1998). Mathematical thinking of high school students in Nebraska. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 29(1), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739980290106
Miyakawa, Y., Kamii, C., & Nagahiro, M. (2005). The Development of Logico-Mathematical Thinking at Ages 1-3 in Play With Blocks and an Incline. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 19(4), 292-301. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568540509595072
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & Group, P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLOS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Monteleone, C., Miller, J., & Warren, E. (2023). Conceptualising critical mathematical thinking in young students. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 35(2), 339-359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-023-00445-1
Morsanyi, K., Prado, J., & Richland, L. E. (2018). Editorial: The role of reasoning in mathematical thinking. Thinking & Reasoning, 24(2), 129-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2018.1435425
Petticrew, M., & Roberts, H. (2008). Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.com/books/about/Systematic_Reviews_in_the_Social_Science.html?id=ZwZ1_xU3E80C
Selden, A., & Selden, J. (2005). Perspectives on Advanced Mathematical Thinking. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 7(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0701_1
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). What is Mathematical Thinking? (1st Edition ed.). Routledge.
Torres-Peña, R. C., Peña-González, D., & Ariza-Echeverri, E. A. (2025). Mathematical thinking in preschool: Strengthening seriation and counting through problem solving. International Journal of Early Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-024-00402-4
Van Oers, B. (1990). The development of mathematical thinking in school: a comparison of the action-psychological and information-processing approaches. International Journal of Educational Research, 14(1), 51-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-0355(90)90016-2
Van Oers, B. (2010). Emergent mathematical thinking in the context of play. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 74(1), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9225-x
van Oers, B. (2023). The Development of Mathematical Thinking in Young Children's Play: The Role of Communicative Tools. In Teaching Mathematics as to be Meaningful-Foregrounding Play and Children's Perspectives: Results from the POEM5 Conference, 2022 (pp. 1-12). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37663-4_1
Wang, Q., & Abdullah, A. H. (2024). Enhancing students' critical thinking through mathematics in higher education: A systemic review. Sage Open, 14(1), 21582440241275651. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241275651
Wu, W. R., & Yang, K. L. (2022). The relationships between computational and mathematical thinking: A review study on tasks. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2098929. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2098929
Zivari Rahman, M., Salehi, K., Khodaie, E., Moghadamzadeh, A., & Hakimzadeh, R. (2022). Pathology of Scholastic Aptitude Search in Iran (Systematic Review of Literature in the Last Three Decades). Educational Measurement and Evaluation Studies, 12(39), 103-140. https://jresearch.sanjesh.org/article_697961_en.html
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Najmeh Hosseinieh Farahani (Author); Keyvan Salehi; Masoumeh Sadat Abtahi, Mahdi Ashoori (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
