Humanistic Psychopedagogy in K–12 Mathematics Education: An Integrative Review of Math Trauma Deconstruction and Growth Mindset Transition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59525/gej.2107Keywords:
Humanistic Psychopedagogy, Math Trauma, Growth Mindset, Meaningful LearningAbstract
Modern mathematics instruction remains constrained by high levels of student math anxiety and emotional trauma stemming from rigid, procedure-oriented teaching that neglects psychological dimensions. This literature review aims to reconstruct the mathematics learning paradigm by integrating a humanistic psychopedagogical model to address affective barriers and facilitate students’ cognitive transition toward a growth mindset. The methodology employs an integrative literature review using a qualitative-hermeneutic approach, following a protocol to extract data from reputable international journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, analyzed via Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that fostering an inclusive classroom environment and pedagogical empathy effectively mitigates math trauma, reframes academic failure as a constructive learning tool, and incorporates relational understanding to create humanistic, flexible, and meaningful mathematics learning. Practical recommendations urge educational policymakers and practitioners to redesign national mathematics curricula with a focus on emotional well-being and to continuously develop affectively responsive teacher training modules.
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