Perhaps the Decision of Some Students not to Engage in Learning Mathematics in School is Deliberate

Abstract

A perceived lack of engagement of many students in middle years mathematics classes provides a challenge for educators. In this article we report a project that investigated students' perceptions of the extent to which their own efforts influence their achievement at mathematics and their life opportunities. We conducted 2 hour interviews with over 50 students, as well as collecting other data. The results suggest that a student's orientation to learning mathematics is not predicted by their achievement. Even students who were confident, successful and persistent exhibited short-term goals. It seems that classroom culture may be an important determinant of under-participation in schooling.

Relationship between mathematics statistics engagement and attitudes towards statistics among undergraduate students in Malaysia

“…Past researches indicated a number of students were disengaging themselves from mathematics [3] and these students were not inclined to pursue further study in mathematics in later secondary school or beyond ( [4], [5]). Many factors were related to this mathematics statistics disengagement.…”

Making Mathematics Learning More Engaging for Students in Health Schools through the Use of Apps

“…Apps for mobile devices have the potential to provide such activities but there is a great variety in the quality of apps available, many with questionable mathematical pedagogical value. Larkin (2014) [15] investigated whether mathematics apps were appropriate in terms of the Australian content and the types of mathematics they promoted. He evaluated 142 mathematics apps against a range of measures that demonstrate effective pedagogy in mathematics and only recommended 34 of them for further evaluation and trial with primary school teachers and students.…”

“…They are frequently digital versions of drill and practice games, albeit in a more dynamic, visual learning environment. Other apps offer opportunities to reshape the learning experience and for students to explore mathematical ideas in particular ways that enhance their learning (Sinclair, 2014) [15]. While there is huge potential for mobile technologies to positively influence both student engagement and cognition in mathematics, this depends on the learning situation and the pedagogical approach that the teacher employs (Calder and Campbell, 2016) [16].…”

Junior Secondary Students' Perceptions of Influences on Their Engagement with Schooling

“…In an earlier study, we investigated individual students' perceptions of the extent to which their own efforts contribute to success in mathematics (see Sullivan, Tobias, & McDonough, 2006) and English (Sullivan, McDonough, & Prain, 2005) through interviews in which Year 8 students encountered increasingly difficult tasks. The intention was that eventually nearly all students would confront the challenge of a task which was difficult for them.…”