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How do mathematical experiences contribute to the choice of mathematics

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Abstract

This study examined how mathematical experiences influence Dutch pupils' course enrollment in mathematics. Are gender differences in extracurricular, mathematics-related activities related to achievements in or attitudes towards mathematics, and consequently to differences between girls and boys in the selection of mathematics for their final examination curriculum? In total, 213 Dutch secondary education pupils (i.e., 139 females and 74 males) between the ages of 14 and 15 participated in this study. The frequency of their participation in 60 mathematics-related activities, their intelligence and attitudes toward mathematics were registered. In addition, the achievement grades in mathematics were obtained. The results revealed that extracurricular activities were related to achievement grades rather than to attitudes toward mathematics. Intellectual capacities, achievements, and feelings of adequacy in mathematics, rather than mathematics-related activities, discriminated between the pupils who selected or did not select mathematics for their final examination curriculum. No gender differences could be demonstrated in achievement grades for mathematics, nor in attitudes toward mathematics. These findings suggest that for Dutch secondary education students mathematics-related activities were stimulating, but not decisive for their choice of mathematics in their final examination curriculum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Margot Taal

  2. Faculty of Psychology, UvA, Roetersstraat 15, 1018 WB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Margot Taal

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  1. Margot Taal
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Additional information

The author wishes to express her gratitude to Fernanda Sampaio de Carvalho for gathering the data that formed the basis for this study.

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Taal, M. How do mathematical experiences contribute to the choice of mathematics. Sex Roles 31, 757–769 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544291

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