Mathematics Education Researchers (MER) community
Emotion, Motivation, and Identity in Mathematical Thinking and Achievement
in journal: Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
Understanding how individuals engage with mathematical ideas requires close attention to the affective and personal dimensions that shape mathematical thought and performance. Contemporary research increasingly demonstrates that emotions such as confidence, curiosity, anxiety, and enjoyment significantly influence how learners process mathematical concepts, approach problem-solving situations, and persist through challenging tasks. Motivation plays a similarly crucial role, determining whether learners adopt surface-level strategies or pursue deeper conceptual understanding. Identity, meanwhile, shapes learners sense of belonging, capability, and agency within mathematical communities. When these three forces interact emotion, motivation, and identity they profoundly impact not only achievement outcomes but also learners long-term relationship with mathematics. Exploring these factors is essential for developing learning environments that nurture cognitive growth, support diverse learners, and cultivate productive dispositions toward mathematics.
Growing interest in socio-cultural perspectives has revealed that mathematical thinking is not formed solely by instructional practices but also by learners lived experiences, community expectations, linguistic backgrounds, and societal narratives surrounding mathematics. Such influences can either empower learners or reinforce barriers that limit their sense of competence. Emotional responses to mathematics often emerge from early learning encounters, classroom norms, and peer interactions, shaping personal narratives about one’s mathematical ability. Similarly, motivations for engaging with mathematics may vary widely ranging from intrinsic interest to external expectations and these motivations are strongly influenced by identity development. Understanding how learners negotiate their identities in mathematical contexts provides valuable insight into the ways they internalize feedback, handle failure, and envision themselves as participants in mathematical reasoning and inquiry. Illuminating these dynamics can help educators design more equitable and supportive learning environments that encourage positive affective engagement and stronger academic resilience.
Advances in digital learning, classroom assessment practices, instructional design, and collaborative problem-solving offer new opportunities to investigate the interplay between emotion, motivation, and identity in mathematical learning. Emerging analytic approaches, such as multimodal data capture, learning analytics, discourse analysis, and longitudinal modelling, enable researchers to examine how learners affective states evolve over time and how instructional contexts can promote persistence, metacognitive regulation, and adaptive learning behaviors. In culturally diverse settings, identity formation becomes even more multifaceted, making it essential to explore how cultural values, multilingual experiences, and social positioning influence mathematical understanding. By connecting cognitive, emotional, and sociocultural dimensions, this thematic focus aims to deepen understanding of how learners develop meaningful and empowered relationships with mathematics, how educators can support these processes, and how equitable pedagogical practices can foster enduring mathematical engagement and achievement across different learning contexts.
Timeline:
- Manuscript submissions due: September 10th, 2026
- First round of reviews completed: October 25th, 2026
- Revised manuscripts due: January 10th, 2027
- Final manuscripts due: March 18, 2027
Submission Instructions: Submissions are by closed call (invitation only) and authors should submit their papers through the journal’s Online Manuscript Submission System Editorial Manager®, accessible here. Please note that paper submissions via email are not accepted.
Authors are asked to prepare their manuscripts according to the journal’s standard Submission Guidelines.
Editorial Process:
- When submitting your paper in Editorial Manager, please select “SI: Emotion, Motivation, and Identity in Mathematical Thinking and Achievement” in the dropdown menu in the Author’s Questionnaire.
- Papers should not exceed 7,500 words.
- All papers will be subject to the same rigorous peer-review and Editorial Policies as regular submissions to the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education. All papers will undergo the journal’s standard review procedure (double-blind peer-review), according to the journal’s Peer Review Policy, Process and Guidance. Reviewers will be selected according to the Peer Reviewer Selection policies.
- This journal offers the option to publish Open Access. You are allowed to publish open access through Open Choice. Please explore the OA options available through your institution by referring to our list of OA Transformative Agreements.
Contact: For any questions, please directly contact the Lead Guest Editor: Dr. Ahmad Kadri Junoh (kadr...@yahoo.com).
More: https://link.springer.com/collections/jbjejciabb