Nonviolent communication, compassion and mathematical resilience

Abstract

We consider mathematics anxiety to be a result of cultural violence. We explore the possibilities offered by Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent (compassionate) communication (NVC), developed as a means of addressing conflict, to contribute to the existing work on mathematical resilience (MR), which seeks to address mathematics anxiety and avoidance. Nonviolent communication assumes that compassion is innate, that human behaviour comes from needs, which are indicated by feelings, and stresses the importance of empathy. This resonates with MR, and in particular validates the Growth Zone Model, an important and successful MR strategy involving the non-judgmental awareness and articulation of feelings and needs and the link between these