Secondary school pupils are so scared of looking stupid in maths lessons they will not tell their teachers if they do not understand, suggests research.
A survey of 1,000 10- to 16-year-olds found two-thirds would rather struggle alone or ask friends or family for help.
Half of the 15- and 16-year-olds felt they should already know the answer.
A government spokeswoman said plans to overhaul maths teaching would give children more confidence.
The reasons pupils gave for not asking for help more often were that they were worried about looking foolish, were embarrassed or did not want to draw attention to themselves.
The survey suggests that older teenagers are more timid than younger pupils when it comes to answering questions in class.
via BBC News – School maths lessons: Pupils ‘scared to ask for help’.
It was only last week that the BBC reported on some research indicating that a high percentage of adults could not ‘do’ GCSE level maths. When the nation’s competence compares so unfavourably to so many others, at what point do we sit up and take notice? We are producing a massive semi-literate and semi-numerate underclass.
Colin at QEd Publications
Help me do maths 