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Students' sense of belonging to mathematics in the secondary-tertiary transition

Meehan, Maria orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-8970-8790, Howard, Emma and Ní Shúilleabháin, Aoibhinn orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-4823-495X (2018) Students' sense of belonging to mathematics in the secondary-tertiary transition. In: 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education Conference Details PME42 the 42nd annual meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME), 3-8 Jul 2018, Umea, Sweden.

Abstract
A “sense of belonging to math” (SBM) scale has been shown to predict undergraduate mathematics students’ intent to study mathematics in the future. In this study, we use the scale to examine the impact of the transition from secondary school to university on 33 first year undergraduate students’ SBM. Using a cluster analysis, we identify three clusters: students in both Cluster 1 (n=21) and Cluster 2 (n=9) display a strong SBM at secondary school. Following the transition, those in Cluster 1 exhibit a decrease in SBM, while those in Cluster 2 show only a marginal decrease. Students in Cluster 3 (n=3) show a strong increase in their SBM, but they started with the lowest SBM initially. From an analysis of interviews with seven of the students, factors that might impact students’ SBM during the transition are discussed.
Metadata
Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Event Type:Conference
Refereed:Yes
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)
Published in: Bergqvist, E., Osterholm, M., Granberg, C. and Sumpter, L., (eds.) Proceedings of the 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. . International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education.
Publisher:International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
Official URL:http://hdl.handle.net/10197/10048
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:31917
Deposited On:05 Dec 2025 14:53 by Tom Feeney . Last Modified 05 Dec 2025 14:53
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