Undergraduate Students’ Conceptions of Mathematics: An International Study |
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| Authors: | Peter Petocz Anna Reid Leigh N Wood Geoff H Smith Glyn Mather Ansie Harding Johann Engelbrecht Ken Houston Joel Hillel Gillian Perrett |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Statistics, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia;(2) Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia;(3) University of Technology, Sydney, Australia;(4) University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa;(5) University of Ulster, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, United Kingdom;(6) Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada;(7) Universiti Brunei Darussalam, BSB, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, we report on an international study of undergraduate mathematics students’ conceptions of mathematics. Almost
1,200 students in five countries completed a short survey including three open-ended questions asking about their views of
mathematics and its role in their future studies and planned professions. Responses were analysed starting from a previously-developed
phenomenographic framework (Reid et al., 2003) which required only minor modification. Students’ conceptions of mathematics ranged from the narrowest view as a focus on
calculations with numbers, through a notion of mathematics as a focus on models or abstract structures, to the broadest view
of mathematics as an approach to life and a way of thinking. Broader conceptions of mathematics were more likely to be found
in later-year students (p<0.001) and there were significant differences between universities (p<0.001). The information obtained from the study not only confirms previous research, but also provides a basis for future
development of a monitoring questionnaire. |
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| Keywords: | conceptions of mathematics mathematics in careers mathematics in tertiary study |
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