'I Miss It but I Hate It': Student's Perception About Mathematics Learning at Elementary School

Abstract

For some people, just hearing the term 'mathematics' is enough to bring back bad school memories, not a few even have math anxiety into adulthood. However, for some children, mathematics is liked and missed. Strange? No, it's just all about perception and learning experience. This study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of elementary school students regarding mathematics. Using a qualitative approach with a phenomenology design, this study selects 6 elementary school students in Cirebon City purposively. In-depth interviews were conducted by probing and then analyzed using interactive analysis which included raw text, relevant text, repeating ideas, and themes. This research succeeded in revealing that students have a 'love-hate relationship' tendency with mathematics. Students said that they sometimes miss mathematics because they can do calculations and achieve a feeling of satisfaction, to the point that smart students get pride in being successful in mathematics. Meanwhile, the flow of logical thinking in mathematics lessons, the lack of working tutorials, and the high expectations that are not achieved cause people to often hate mathematics.