ERIC Number: EJ1091415
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-4802
EISSN: N/A
Achievement and Behaviour in Undergraduate Mathematics: Personality Is a Better Predictor than Gender
Alcock, Lara; Attridge, Nina; Kenny, Steven; Inglis, Matthew
Research in Mathematics Education, v16 n1 p1-17 2014
We investigated two factors that predict students' achievement and behaviour in undergraduate mathematics: gender and personality. We found that gender predicted students' achievement and behaviour when considered in isolation, but ceased to be predictive when personality profiles were taken into account. Furthermore, personality accounted for significantly more variance in undergraduates' achievement and behaviour than did gender, but the converse was not the case. We therefore argue that personality provides the more productive lens through which to understand the behaviour of undergraduate mathematics students. We relate this finding to recent research emphasising gender differences in mathematics education, and suggest that researchers wishing to promote equity in participation at and beyond the undergraduate level should consider shifting their focus to individual differences in personality.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Mathematics Achievement, Personality Traits, Gender Differences, Predictor Variables, Student Behavior, Predictive Validity, Mathematics Education, Individual Differences, Personality Measures, Grades (Scholastic), Questionnaires, Incidence, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries, College Students, Learning Strategies, Multivariate Analysis, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Study Process Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A