Quantitative Literacy and Reasoning of Freshman Students with Different Senior High School Academic Background Pursuing STEM-Related Programs

Nick W. Sibaen

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.11.1.231

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">This paper investigates the quantitative literacy and reasoning (QLR) of freshmen students pursuing a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)–related degree but do not necessarily have a Senior High School (SHS) STEM background. QLR is described as a multi-faceted skill focused on the application of Mathematics and Statistics rather than just a mere mastery of the content domains of these fields. This article compares the QLR performance between STEM and non-STEM SHS graduates. Further, this quantitative-correlational study involves 255 freshman students, of which 115 have non-STEM academic background from the SHS. Results reveal that students with a SHS STEM background had significantly higher QLR performance. Nevertheless, this difference does not cloud the fact that their overall QLR performance marks the lowest when compared to results of similar studies. This paper also shows whether achievement in SHS courses such as General Mathematics, and Statistics and Probability are significant predictors of QLR. Multivariate regression analysis discloses that achievement in the latter significantly relates to QLR. However, the low coefficient of determination (10.30%) suggests that achievement in these courses alone does not account to the students’ QLR. As supported by a deeper investigation of the students’ answers, it is concluded that QLR indeed involves complex processes and is more than just being proficient in Mathematics and Statistics.</p>

Highlights

With the advent of the recently implemented Philippine basic education curriculum (K-12), high school students are required to take number-driven courses such as Mathematics and Statistics
The academic achievement of students in courses they had in common (General Mathematics and Statistics and Probability) were brought out because one goal of this paper is to explore how these courses may have contributed to the quantitative literacy and reasoning (QLR) of students
The quantitative literacy and reasoning of students as assessed by the quantitative literacy and reasoning assessment (QLRA) appear to be dismal as it marks the lowest when compared to the results of other studies that used the same instrument

Summary

Introduction

With the advent of the recently implemented Philippine basic education curriculum (K-12), high school students are required to take number-driven courses such as Mathematics and Statistics. Submerged with theoretical content and computational drills, students graduate with the hope of being able to apply these knowledge and skills in solving problems encountered in their future workplace or more importantly in the stage of their education. It is one thing to excel on the abstractions of Mathematics or computational and theoretical dimensions of Statistics; it is another to recognize their applications to the vast complexities of the modern world. It is with this nature of QLR that the researcher strongly advocates the development of this ability especially for students planning to enroll degree programs aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion