Abstract
Mathematics education is highly valued in advanced economies due to its role in developing skilled workforces, economic resilience and social wellbeing. However, university academics across disciplines regularly bemoan undergraduate students’ under-preparedness for the mathematical and quantitative demands of undergraduate degree programmes. In this paper we consider this issue. We begin with a research synthesis of relevant literatures on mathematics within university study in the natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) and social sciences (economics, geography, psychology) that highlights the international nature of this problem. We then develop an historical national case study of how mathematics for pre-university study in England has evolved, culminating in a recent policy move which mandates the assessment of mathematics within disciplines. Finally, by integrating these two distinct perspectives we discuss wider issues relating to mathematics for the transition to higher education.
Highlights
Governments and education ministries across the world recognise the importance of having a mathematically well-educated populace (Gago, 2004, National Academies, 2007, Kounine et al, 2008, Vorderman et al, 2011)
The same review considered A level Mathematics sufficiently important to warrant more substantial changes and the work was devolved to a new university-led organisation, the A level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB)
The international research evidence is far from conclusive regarding the extent to which pre-university mathematics qualifications work to this end
Summary
Governments and education ministries across the world recognise the importance of having a mathematically well-educated populace (Gago, 2004, National Academies, 2007, Kounine et al, 2008, Vorderman et al, 2011). A second driver of this political interest in mathematics education is the increasingly influential global comparisons such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) These assessments produce rankings of school systems and adult competences, making possible analyses of the relationships between the (mathematical) performances of nations and their economic productivity, levels of inequality and social wellbeing. A third driver, which brings us closer to the concerns of this paper, is the science lobby and its concern for mathematically well-educated school leavers who can sustain and grow the science base through advanced study and employment in scientific fields, whether in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) heartlands or in other mathematically demanding disciplines (e.g. economics). The paper concludes by integrating these two perspectives into a more holistic discussion of the current mathematics education landscape for the transition to university
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