It Isn’t Adding Up: The Gap Between the Perceptions of Engineering Mathematics Students and those Held by Lecturers in the First Year of Study of Engineering

Abstract

The transition from second level to third level education offers a considerable degree of challenge for many students. One such challenge is the students’ internalized world-view and its effects on the potential of the students. The perceptions, self-efficacy, and expectancy, of the students as they move into third level education, may be significantly at variance with the beliefs held by lecturers. This research project began as an individual case study of first year engineering students in one higher education organization and was extended to include a similar organization in another EU country. Through a series of questionnaires and group interviews with students the thematic outputs of the process formed the basis for questioning of lecturers. Evidence from the data revealed many students in the initial stages of the first year of study, display low levels of confidence, do not understand the higher education assessment processes, and perceive many barriers to progress. Many lecturers do not share the outputs from the student data when individual lecturer interviews are analyzed. In an attempt to ascertain if the issues raised are localized, further research has begun to gather data from students in similar Higher Education organisations in an additional four countries. The outcomes suggest an alternative approach to assessment of engineering mathematics is required.