Mathematics self-concept and university dropout

Abstract

The phenomenon of university dropouts before completion of studies is a widespread and worrisome problem internationally and is increasingly becoming an issue of policy, institutional and research interest. Our study is within the strand of research aimed at investigating its causes, with the aim of providing valuable information for the design of effective interventions to counter them. The focus is on mathematics and, in particular, on the role of one of the affective factors that is increasingly being linked to the processes of learning and teaching mathematics, the mathematics self-concept. In this paper, we will report the results of a study conducted with students in the first year of a mathematics course, investigating the factors that relate to self-concept and its change during the secondary-tertiary transition and how self-concept is related to willingness to drop out of the course of study.