It is a well-known fact that many students struggle during the transition from school to university mathematics. The aim of our quantitative study was to clarify the role of students' beliefs concerning the nature of mathematics for a successful transition. We distinguish between static beliefs (mathematics as a finished system of rules, facts and formula) and dynamic beliefs (mathematics as a dynamic discipline with applications in everyday life). In particular, we examined whether first year students' beliefs are suitable to predict students' exam achievement and their satisfaction (as criteria for a successful transition) and how students' beliefs develop during the transition. Therefore, we used questionnaires at the beginning and in the middle of the first term at university. Our results indicate that dynamic beliefs decrease during transition, whereas static beliefs remain rather stable. This seems problematic since dynamic beliefs turned out to negatively predict students' dropout intention, while static beliefs are a negative predictor of students' achievement in real analysis. Furthermore, the beliefs assessed in the middle of the term had a stronger predictive power than those at the beginning of the term. Based on these results, we discuss implications for the teaching of mathematics during the transition.
The transition from school to university mathematics is a challenging process for many students, which is reflected in high dropout rates during the first year at university. Using mediation analysis, we want to shed light on the role of students’ attitudes towards mathematics—especially their interest in mathematics and their mathematical self-concept—for early dropout and investigate the underlying mechanisms for the relations between attitudes and dropout. Informed by frameworks of person-environment-fit and results from educational psychology, we consider satisfaction with one’s studies and achievement as potential mediators, influencing the relations between attitudes and early dropout. Our results within a sample of 274 first-year students, enrolled in a pure mathematics or a teacher education program at a German university, show that interest in university mathematics and mathematical self-concept are associated with less risk to drop out. In the case of interest, this relation is mediated by students’ satisfaction, and in the case of self-concept, this relation is mediated by satisfaction and achievement. Based on these results, we discuss how to support students during the transition from school to university mathematics in order to prevent early dropout.
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