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MathsSparks: Investigating the impact of outreach on pupil’s attitudes towards mathematics

Cronin, Anthony orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-6115-1564, Ní Shúilleabháin, Aoibhinn orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-4823-495X, Lewanowski-Breen, Emily and Kennedy, Christopher (2017) MathsSparks: Investigating the impact of outreach on pupil’s attitudes towards mathematics. MSOR Connections, 15 (3). pp. 4-13. ISSN 2051-4220

Abstract
In this article, we examine the impact of participating in a series of mathematics workshops on secondary-school pupils' attitudes towards mathematics. A six-week program, entitled 'Maths Sparks', was run by a team of lecturers and students at a research-intensive university in the Republic of Ireland. The outreach series aimed to promote mathematics to pupils from schools designated as socio-economically disadvantaged (DEIS - Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), who are less likely to study mathematics at higher level than their non-DEIS counterparts (Smyth et al. 2015). Sixty-two pupils participated in the research and data was generated through pre-post questionnaires based on the FennemaSherman (1976) framework of Attitudes to Mathematics. Findings suggest that while male students initially had more positive attitudes towards mathematics, there was a narrowing in this gender gap across several factors on the Fennema-Sherman scale as a result of participation in the programme. The most prominent of these features were: 'Attitudes towards success in mathematics' and 'Motivation towards mathematics'. Findings suggest that the construct and delivery of this Mathematics outreach programme, involving undergraduate students and academic staff, may provide a useful structure in benefitting pupils' attitudes towards mathematics and encouraging their study of the subject.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Mathematics outreach, widening participation, student-staff collaboration.
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Teaching
Mathematics
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of STEM Education, Innovation, & Global Studies
Research Institutes and Centres > Research Centre in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education (CASTel)
Publisher:University of Greenwich
Official URL:https://journals.gre.ac.uk/index.php/msor/issue/vi...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:31863
Deposited On:01 Dec 2025 14:42 by Tom Feeney . Last Modified 01 Dec 2025 14:42
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