This paper presents findings from a quantitative, survey research study that investigated the prevalence of mathematics anxiety (MA) in two Grade 7 cohorts and how students’ MA compared by gender. The research sample consisted of 467 Grade 7 students (276 females and 186 males) from two high schools in Jamaica. The data were collected using the Modified Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (mAMAS) and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that students experienced a range of MA (Low, Slight, Moderate, and High).

In this paper I advocate a critical reorientation of the way we think about the practice of teacher education in Jamaica. I suggest this as a strategy for challenging the resilience of traditional, teacher-centred pedagogy in our schools. To make my case I share the findings of a study that used the theoretical discourse of critical pedagogy as a conceptual framework to examine teaching practices in a Jamaican teachers college.