A history of the development of the mathematics and statistics support community in the United Kingdom. Part 1: From alpha to sigma

Abstract

In terms of the history of mathematics higher education, mathematics and statistics support (MSS) is a very recent development, existing as a formal feature for less than 50 years. However, in this short time, MSS has displayed its own characteristics. A particularly notable feature of MSS in the United Kingdom (and in other countries) has been the way in which practitioners have collaborated with each other, almost from the outset. This collaboration has led to the creation of a community (the sigma network) with a written constitution and formal membership. This two-part article traces the history of the development of the MSS community in the UK from its earliest incarnations to the present day. The first part of the article reviews the period from the early 1990s to 2005 during which time the key events were the rise and demise of the Mathematics Support Association and the creation of sigma, Centre of Excellence in University-wide Mathematics and Statistics Support.

The development of mathematics support: teaching and learning practices, scholarship and communities

“…As far as the authors are aware, the first formal mathematics support centre was established at Central Queensland University in 1984 (Dzator & Dzator, 2020). In the United Kingdom, early provision was the MathsPlus centre at Edinburgh Napier University (then known as Napier Technical College) which opened in 1988 (Ahmed et al, 2018) and the BP Mathematics Centre at Coventry University (then known as Coventry Polytechnic) established in 1991 (Lawson, 2021). In 2005, the importance of mathematics support initiatives was recognised by the Higher Education Funding Council for England 2 leading to the establishment, by Loughborough and Coventry Universities, of sigma 3 as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning focusing on universitywide mathematics and statistics support.…”

“…This implicit assumption of deficit can be seen in a number of ways. The bid submitted by Coventry Polytechnic to the BP Engineering Education Fund (Lawson, 2021) set out two key goals for the provision:…”