Mathematics learning, identity and educational practice: the transition into Higher Education

We hypothesise that the quality of a student’s experience of, and engagement in, mathematics is critical to their developing disposition and 'identity', and so to their choices and subsequent success in mathematically demanding programmes (MDP) in HE. This project therefore focuses on different mathematics educational practices at A2/BTEC level and in transition into HE level study (essentially first year university) that influence students' developing dispositions towards mathematics and decisions in HE. We focus on transitional practices at the boundaries between 6fFE and HE and investigate the effects on learner identities, choices and learning outcomes of different educational contexts and their interaction with students' sociocultural contexts.

Our previous project provided:

• an established network of colleges actively engaged with the research team
• appropriate robust methodology and measurement instruments
• an initial 12 months of data spanning 'year 12' (for AS/BTEC year one students taking Use of Maths AS & traditional AS maths), case studies and
• an underpinning theory of the relationship between identity and practice.

The project will have two distinct strands which inform each other.

1. Survey

We will track students longitudinally surveying a cohort of diverse students as they move from Level 3 study to the completion of their first year at university. Most of the initial sample of students will progress from A level or an equivalent pre-university course (e.g. BTEC Eng.) into university and most will be studying mathematically demanding programmes. Our survey will include measures of student’s social and educational background, performance, disposition towards future study of, and perceived self-efficacy in mathematics, and will allow us to measure outcomes as evidence of the effect of programmes and practices, as well as the influence of background variables. In addition, the survey will track the educational choices students make - of the courses and HEIs selected, and any changes during year 1. (We anticipate that 10-30% may not complete the first year of university as planned – ‘exit’ interviews with those students will be crucial, see below.)

2 Case Studies

Our case study research will involve:

1. individual students' educational-life stories based on three interviews as they progress through college-university transitions (some of these we already have interviewed through their AS/A level courses). These individual studies will provide rich accounts of how sociocultural and educational factors can influence decisions and afford/constrain their identities as learners of mathematics and mathematically demanding subjects.
2. Case studies of educational practices and student experiences will be conducted in 5 HEI institutions (redbrick and post-92) involving up to 8 Schools (disciplines) including Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Education/management. These will extend our existing pre-university cases to include about 40+ students finishing the first year as planned (and perhaps 10 who do not), and provide cases of practices characterised as 'diagnostic assessment and targeted support’, ’learning centre support’ and '6fFE-HE collaboration initiatives'.

Our analyses and results will therefore be anchored in theory and well-grounded in a combination of richly-described case studies and evidence of effectiveness from survey measurement as well as insights into the students’ experience. Outcomes will include understandings of

1. the diversity of student experience of learning mathematics in 6fFE and in transition to HE, including for minority groups (e.g. girls into engineering and/or science);
2. how educational transition practices and policies impact on student choices, dispositions and retention/drop-out, and thus
3. how initiatives might be more successful in engaging learners in mathematics.

At the root of the study is an argument that mathematics learning is critical not only for aspiring mathematicians, but also for students studying a range of STEM courses.

Crucially we include a final six-month development phase during which we will publish and further engage collaboratively with practitioners and policy makers in dissemination and transformation of our findings, ensuring user engagement and impact. The project expects to be able to make a substantial contribution to knowledge with appropriate outputs addressing academic, practitioner and policy-making audiences, with whom we have and will continue to build good connections.

Please feel free to contact anyone from the team at the University of Manchester by calling 0161 275 3490 or 275 3409

TransMaths Research Team at the University of Manchester: funded by ESRC project no RES-062-23-1213.

Pauline Davis, Laura Black (on leave till Dec 2008), Valerie Farnsworth, Paul Hernandez-Martinez, Kamilah Jooganah, Irene Kleanthous, Tim Millar, Maria Pampaka, Birgit Pepin, Geoff Wake, Julian Williams