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Affective States of University Developmental Mathematics Students and their Impact on Self-Efficacy, Belonging, Career Identity, Success and Persistence

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Abstract

The identification of factors that impact student success in mathematics courses has been a focus of a great deal of research since the early 2000s. The role of classroom approaches, teacher beliefs, and underlying student backgrounds have been studied in different ways. As a part of this effort researchers have studied the degree to which personality factors and affect contribute to (or mitigate) a student’s level of effective engagement. In this work we present the results from the first semester of a two-year study of the role of anxiety, personality factors and self-efficacy in student success and career planning for a cohort of students entering a developmental mathematics course at the university level. We quantify the impact of anxiety on success and grade outcomes, as well as identify a personality factor interacting with success in a surprising way. We provide initial data regarding the students’ sense of belonging in STEM disciplines and their self-efficacy levels, and then analyse their career planning patterns.

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Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (DUE 1544011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, West Virginia University, 320 Armstrong Hall, PO Box 6310, Morgantown, WV, 26505, USA

    Jessica Deshler & Marjorie Darrah

  2. Department of Mathematics STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Edgar Fuller

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  1. Jessica Deshler
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  2. Edgar Fuller
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  3. Marjorie Darrah
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Correspondence to Jessica Deshler.

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Deshler, J., Fuller, E. & Darrah, M. Affective States of University Developmental Mathematics Students and their Impact on Self-Efficacy, Belonging, Career Identity, Success and Persistence. Int. J. Res. Undergrad. Math. Ed. 5, 337–358 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40753-019-00096-3

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