EXPERIENCED EMOTIONS BY PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS AS PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN MATHEMATICS LESSONS

The quality of the study process is influenced by the prospective teacher's emotions experienced during the educational process at school. The emotions experienced at school as a pupil are initiators of psychic and physical strengths, or they can be an impediment. The aim of this article is to investigate the emotions experienced by prospective teachers when learning mathematics as primary school pupils and to highlight the factors arousing emotions in learning mathematics in primary school. The article analyses data obtained in empirical research on the emotions experienced by prospective teachers during mathematics lessons in primary school. Full-time and part-time students of the Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy prospective primary school teachers beginning the course "Study content and methodology of elementary mathematics" recall their early school years and learning mathematics in questionnaires and structured interviews. We highlighted the factors in learning mathematics in primary school that caused positive emotions. However, failure to comply with these factors caused negative emotions. We can conclude that students who experienced positive emotions in mathematics at school have positive emotions and a positive attitude towards mathematics, and they have a desire to improve their mathematics skills and willingly apply them in professional and life activities.