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Gender differences in the level of engagement with mathematics support in higher education in Ireland

Ní Fhloinn, Eabhnat orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-3840-2115, Fitzmaurice, Olivia, Mac an Bhaird, Ciarán orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2863-3398 and O'Sullivan, Ciarán (2016) Gender differences in the level of engagement with mathematics support in higher education in Ireland. International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, 2 (3). pp. 297-317. ISSN 2198-9745

Abstract
Over the past couple of decades, mathematics support centres have become widespread in higher education, most notably in Ireland, the U.K. and Australia. These centres generally offer a range of free support services to students who feel they need additional help with their mathematics modules. A major large-scale survey of first-year higher education students was undertaken in Ireland to ascertain students’ evaluation of mathematics support. There were significant differences in self-reported attendance between male and female students, with a binary logistic regression model showing that female students were almost two and a half times more likely to engage with mathematics support than male students, while controlling for other factors such as prior mathematical achievement, degree, and institution attended. In this paper, the engagement levels of 1633 students with mathematics support across nine Higher Education Institutes are analysed. The reasons given by both genders for either using or not using the services provided across a range of disciplines and higher education institutes are explored, with the aim of ensuring that the optimum support is provided to all students who may need such help.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Gender Mathematics; Support; Engagement; Attendance; Opinions
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Gender
Mathematics
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Mathematical Sciences
Research Initiatives and Centres > Center for the Advancement of Science Teaching and Learning (CASTeL)
Publisher:Springer International Publishing
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40753-016-0031-4
Copyright Information:© 2016 Springer. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:22714
Deposited On:12 Oct 2018 08:36 by Eabhnat Ni Fhloinn . Last Modified 12 Oct 2018 08:56
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