In this paper we explore the attitudes of under-privileged secondary school pupils in Ireland towards mathematics and investigate the impact of attending a 4-week engagement programme on these attitudes. The pupils involved in this research attended schools recognized by the Department of Education & Skills as socio-economically deprived. Pupils attending these schools, known as Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), are 40% less likely than their counterparts in non-DEIS schools to pursue mathematics at a higher level in state examinations (Smyth, E., Mccoy, S. & Kingston, G., 2015, Learning From the Evaluation of DEIS. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute). However, little research has reported on these pupils’ experiences of and attitudes towards mathematics at senior secondary level. An engagement programme entitled ‘Maths Sparks’ was purposefully designed for secondary pupils from DEIS schools, with the aim of positively influencing their attitudes towards and confidence in mathematics. The programme consisted of weekly out-of-school workshops exploring extra-curricular mathematics topics, designed and delivered by undergraduate mathematics students. Questionnaires were utilized to evaluate pupils’ attitudes towards mathematics before and after their participation in the programme. Despite its relatively short time frame, qualitative and quantitative analysis suggests an increase in participating pupils’ attitudes towards, enjoyment of and self-confidence in mathematics due to their participation in the programme. Findings also suggest that while these pupils liked the subject of mathematics, their experience of learning the subject in school was not always positive and was sometimes hindered by the absence of higher-level mathematics as an option in school. The high-stakes examination content and teachers’ beliefs in the ability of their students also sometimes negatively impacted learners’ intentions to pursue mathematics at a higher level. Findings suggest that longitudinal mathematics engagement programmes, which focus on problem solving, involve extra-curricular mathematical concepts and are presented by undergraduate mathematics students, may provide a valuable way of positively impacting pupils’ intentions to pursue the subject.

中文翻译：

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Maths Sparks 参与计划：调查对贫困学生对数学态度的影响

在本文中，我们探讨了爱尔兰贫困中学生对数学的态度，并调查了参加为期 4 周的参与计划对这些态度的影响。参与这项研究的学生就读于教育和技能部认可的社会经济贫困学校。就读于这些被称为在学校提供机会平等 (DEIS) 的学校的学生在州考试中追求更高水平的数学的可能性比非 DEIS 学校的学生低 40% (Smyth, E., McCoy, S. & Kingston, G.，2015，从 DEIS 的评估中学习. 都柏林：经济和社会研究所）。然而，很少有研究报告这些学生在高中阶段对数学的体验和态度。一项名为“Maths Sparks”的参与计划是专门为 DEIS 学校的中学生设计的，旨在积极影响他们对数学的态度和信心。该计划包括每周一次的校外讲习班，探索课外数学主题，由数学本科生设计和提供。问卷用于评估学生在参与该计划之前和之后对数学的态度。尽管时间框架相对较短，但定性和定量分析表明，参与的学生对、由于参与该计划，他们对数学的享受和自信。调查结果还表明，虽然这些学生喜欢数学这门课，但他们在学校学习这门课的经历并不总是积极的，有时会因为学校没有更高水平的数学作为选择而受到阻碍。高风险的考试内容和教师对学生能力的信念有时也会对学习者追求更高水平数学的意图产生负面影响。研究结果表明，纵向数学参与计划侧重于解决问题，涉及课外数学概念并由数学本科生提出，可以提供一种有价值的方式来积极影响学生追求该学科的意图。