School mathematics and university outcomes
| dc.contributor.author | Houston, Muir | |
| dc.contributor.author | Rimmer, Russell | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-06-29T20:21:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-06-29T20:21:06Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2007 | |
| dc.description.abstract | There is concern that, as participation of non-traditional entrants widens, many university students do not have the mathematical preparation required to learn skills vital for professional work. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between mathematical attainment at secondary school and the outcomes of university study in quantitative disciplines. An 'engagement' theory of higher-education study is used to investigate academic performance and progression among students who gained entry on the basis of Scottish Higher examinations to a university that has embraced widening participation. Within this environment there is considerable diversity. For example, although most students were 18 on entry, students were aged from 16 to 38. While pre-entry preparation in mathematics was not extensive, this varied. At the university, assistance with mathematical skills is embedded in programmes and is discipline specific. Students with better pre-entry attainments in mathematics had better average marks, maintained greater study loads and were more likely to progress. However, non-traditional university students with poorer mathematical backgrounds were able to attain comparable outcomes. | |
| dc.description.eprintid | 658 | |
| dc.description.faculty | div_BaM | |
| dc.description.ispublished | unpub | |
| dc.description.referencetext | Donnelly, M, McCormack, D and Rimmer, R (2007) 'Load and academic attainment in two business schools', Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(6), 1-18. Greene, W (2003) Econometric analysis, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Hawkes, T and Savage, M (eds) (2000) Measuring the mathematics problem: report of seminar held at the Mller Centre Cambridge, 10-11 May 1999, London: The Engineering Council. Houston, M, Knox, H and Rimmer, R (2007) 'Wider access and progression among full-time students', Higher Education, 53(1), 107-146. Houston, M and Rimmer, R (2007) 'Transition from first to second semester and the life-work-study balance', in The Times They Are A-changing', Proceedings of the 4th Biennal Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning Conference, Stirling June. Houston, M and Rimmer, R (2005) 'A comparison of academic outcomes for business and other students', International Journal of Management Education, 4(3), 11-19. Randall, J (2005) 'You can't brain up by dumbing down degrees', Daily Telegraph, November 25, 5. Simonite, V (2003) 'Multilevel analysis of the relationship between entry qualifications and trends in degree classifications in mathematical sciences: 1994-2000', International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 35(3), 335-344 Szafran, R (2001) 'The effect of academic load on success for New College students: is lighter better?', Research in Higher Education, 42(1), 27-50 Yorke, M (2002) 'Degree classification in English, Welsh and Northern Irish universities: trends 1994-5 to 1998-9', Higher Education Quarterly, 56(1), 92-108 | |
| dc.description.status | unpub | |
| dc.identifier | ER658 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Houston, M. and Rimmer, R. (2007) School mathematics and university outcomes. In: Addressing the Quantitative Skills Gap: Establishing and Sustaining Cross-Curricular Mathematical Support in Higher Education, St Andrews, UK, 25th – 27th Jun 2007. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/658 | |
| dc.publisher | Work in progress | |
| dc.title | School mathematics and university outcomes | |
| dc.type | monograph | |
| dcterms.accessRights | public | |
| qmu.author | Rimmer, Russell | |
| rioxxterms.type | monograph |
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