Dr. Ying Yao wins 2025 OISE Leithwood award for her outstanding doctoral thesis on math anxiety
Dr. Ying Yao has been named the 2025 winner of the Leithwood Award for OISE Outstanding Thesis of the Year.
The Leithwood Award is presented to one recipient annually in recognition of exceptional, cutting-edge research conducted by an OISE student in the last phase of their doctoral work.
Established in 2003, this award is named in honour of Dr. Kenneth Leithwood, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education and former Associate Dean, Research. His research on educational leadership and educational change contributed to shaping theory, policy and practice in most jurisdictions in Canada, England, the United States, and Australia.
Dr. Yao, from the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, was nominated by her Faculty Supervisors Professor Kang Lee and Professor Earl Woodruff for her thesis “Psychological and Physiological Reactions During a Math Test in Children with High and Low Math Anxiety.”
As well, Dr. Christine Corso, from the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, has received an honourable mention for her thesis “Academic Engagement and Emotional Well-Being of Secondary Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Dr. Corso was nominated by her Faculty Supervisor Professor Nina Bascia.
"Dr. Yao's investigation of the psychological and physiological responses of children with and without math anxiety advances research in several fields, with important implications for both theory and practice, including the design of more effective interventions for students with math anxiety," said Professor Michele Peterson-Badali, Associate Dean, Research, International & Innovation.
"I wish to congratulate Dr. Yao on receiving the Leithwood Award, and for delivering a dissertation that stood out among outstanding submissions."
In recent years, Dr. Lois Maplethorpe won this award in 2024 for her thesis: “Growing Our Roots: Exploring the Home Language and Literacy Environment within the Context of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being.” Dr. Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing received the 2023 award for her research on Indigenous grief medicines. Dr. Mona El Samaty won the Leithwood Award in 2022 for her research on the linguistic and cultural realities of Montreal.
To explore this award in more detail, we spoke with Dr. Yao about her journey.
What does completing your doctoral work mean to you?
Completing my doctoral studies at OISE was a transformative chapter in my academic journey. It taught me that true breakthroughs emerge from deep focusing on one critical question. Somewhere along the way, I learned that meaningful progress doesn’t come from running in numerous directions. It comes from self-reflection and awareness as I ask myself: What is the one question worth devoting myself to?
This was the most valuable lesson I learned, reflecting on my life at OISE, both as a master’s and doctoral student. That lesson didn’t come easily. When I began my PhD journey, like many students, I was ambitious and eager to take on multiple challenges — chasing after ideas that looked impressive on paper but didn’t speak to me more deeply. All thanks to my supervisors Dr. Kang Lee and Dr. Earl Woodruff for their mentorship. I came to understand that excellence in research is not about how much ground you cover, but how deeply you’re willing to go. They never pushed; they guided. And with time, I found clarity in a single research question: investigating the physiological mechanisms of math anxiety. This focus not only made my research more groundbreaking but also allowed me to experience the value of solving a truly original problem.
More than a dissertation, what I carry with me is a new way of thinking. OISE taught me how to strip away noise and find the signal; how to build questions before building experiments; and how to sit with uncertainty instead of rushing to conclusions. These aren’t just academic tools—they’re ways of being in the world. Looking back, the PhD wasn’t the destination. It was the training ground that shaped the kind of researcher—and person—I want to be.
What's next for you, in your work?
I see my future not just in research, but in bridging the gap between research and real-world impact. My goal is to become the kind of scholar who doesn’t stop at publishing findings but works to bring those insights into classrooms, clinics, and communities. I want to help build that crucial bridge between the lab and the world—where evidence-based ideas can truly make a difference in people’s lives.
Right now, I’m moving in two directions. Firstly, I’m collaborating with ed-tech companies and schools to translate my lab findings into tools that educators can use—such as classroom assessments and intervention strategies for students struggling with math anxiety. Secondly, I’m working to expand the physiological and psychological insights I uncovered during my PhD beyond math anxiety and applying them to broader forms of anxiety. This is a deeply underexplored area in the current literature, but one with immense potential to inform more targeted and effective interventions.
In both directions, the goal is the same: to make sure our research doesn’t just live in journals—it lives in people’s lives. Ultimately, I envision creating an evidence-based ecosystem where neuroscientific insights systematically inform educational practice, particularly in anxiety prevention and cognitive-emotional development.
Why were you interested in the topic you explored, about math anxiety and reactions in children? Do we know enough about math anxiety in this day and age, and its impacts on math scores?
My initial research interest was quite different. I set out to explore intervention strategies for childhood stress, such as aromatherapy to ease math anxiety. As I began designing the experiment, I stumbled upon a striking gap: there was almost no empirical research on the physiological underpinnings of math anxiety, particularly in children. That absence caught my attention. Millions of children experience math anxiety worldwide, yet we still don’t fully understand how it manifests in the body. I realized that without a clear understanding of these mechanisms, any physiological intervention would be built on untested assumptions. This realization shifted the trajectory of my work. I felt a sense of urgency to ground future interventions in solid empirical evidence.
What are your findings?
What surprised me most was that once I completed my first experiment, the data directly contradicted widely held assumptions. Most people—including researchers—assumed that children who self-reported higher levels of math anxiety would demonstrate elevated physiological stress during a math-related task. This belief has shaped many current intervention approaches. However, my findings unexpectedly revealed that students with higher math anxiety exhibited higher psychological stress but lower physiological stress during math tests compared to the lower math anxiety group. I immediately launched a second study with a larger sample size—and to my amazement, the findings held. At that point, I knew we weren’t just filling a gap in the literature—we were challenging the very premise on which many anxiety interventions have been built.
How did you grow as a researcher in your field? In what way was the OISE environment ideal to help you answer your academic questions?
This dissertation not only addressed a major blind spot in math anxiety research but also laid the groundwork for future studies and interventions targeting both math anxiety and broader anxiety conditions. It also raises critical questions about whether current intervention models are targeting the right mechanisms. I’m deeply grateful to my supervisors, Dr. Kang Lee and Dr. Earl Woodruff, and to OISE as a whole. The freedom to pursue what truly intrigued me, paired with a research culture that encouraged deep focus. This gave me the space to grow into an independent scholar. Over six years, I was supported not just in finishing a degree—but in becoming a truly accomplished researcher who can bring value and contributions to the world.
Honourable mention
OISE would also like to acknowledge Dr. Christine Corso, from the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, who has received an honourable mention for her thesis “Academic Engagement and Emotional Well-Being of Secondary Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Dr. Corso was nominated by her Faculty Supervisor Professor Nina Bascia.