Exploring the M in STEM: Post-secondary Participation, Performance and Attrition in Mathematics
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Exploring the M in STEM: Post-secondary Participation, Performance and Attrition in Mathematics Lois George
# Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) 2020
Abstract Improving student participation and achievement in post-secondary STEM courses continues to be an important concern of many governments and educational institutions since this is one avenue by which the number of STEM professionals can be increased. This paper examines and compares the gendered participation, performance and attrition rate of candidates in two post-secondary mathematics courses over a 5-year period from 2013 to 2017. This study used the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), which is the main public examination board in the Caribbean, for 15,220 candidates (N = 19,585) from 71 post-secondary educational institutions in Jamaica. ‘CAPE’ applies to both the course of study and the associated examination. The study found that, on average, approximately one-fifth of the candidates who pursue CAPE courses in Jamaica opt to study a mathematics course and that across the 5 years this remained relatively stable. There was, however, a marked decrease in the number of candidates choosing to enrol in Unit 2 courses on completion of the related Unit 1 course. Another key finding was that, while a higher percentage of males chose to undertake Applied Mathematics Unit 2 and equal proportions of male and female candidates the other three courses, there was a significant difference in the overall performance by gender with females outperforming their male peers. These findings suggest that initiatives are needed which improve student performance and experience in CAPE mathematics Unit 1 subjects which could then reduce student attrition across units. Résumé L'amélioration de la participation et des résultats des étudiants dans les cours de STEM aux niveaux postsecondaires reste une préoccupation importante pour de nombreux gouvernements et établissements d'enseignement, car c’est l'une des voies susceptibles d'augmenter le nombre de professionnels dans les disciplines STEM. Cet article analyse et compare les taux de participation, de rendement et d'attrition, des candidats et candidates à deux cours de mathématiques postsecondaires sur une période de cinq ans, de 2013 à 2017. L’étude a analysé les résultats aux Examens de compétence avancée des Caraïbes (CAPE) du Conseil des examens des Caraïbes (CXC) – le principal jury des examens publics des Caraïbes – de 15 220 candidats (N = 19585) provenant de 71 établissements d'enseignement postsecondaire en Jamaïque. L'étude révèle qu'en moyenne, environ un cinquième des étudiants qui suivent des cours du CAPE en Jamaïque choisissent de s’inscrire à un cours de mathématiques, et que, au cours des
L. George (*) University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, 3 Hope Close, Kingston 7, Jamaica e-mail: [email protected]
Can. J. Sci. Math. Techn. Educ.
cinq années de l’étude, cette proportion est restée relativement stable. On remarq
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