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Mathematical transitions: a report on the mathematical and statistical needs of students undertaking undergraduate studies in various disciplines

A new Higher Education Academy STEM report Mathematical transitions: a report on the mathematical and statistical needs of students undertaking undergraduate studies in various disciplines has been published.

Mathematics and Statistics are essential to the university curricula of many disciplines. The purpose of the Higher Education Academy STEM project was to investigate the mathematical and statistical requirements in seven of these disciplines: Business and Management, Chemistry, Computing, Economics, Geography, Sociology and Psychology. Reports were commissioned from discipline experts to provide a strong evidence base to inform developments within the disciplines and dialogue between the higher education and pre-university sectors.

This report summarises the findings of these reports and of similar work in other disciplines. It introduces some high-level contextual evidence from the pre-university sector, in particular data about trends in public examinations, and highlights important policy developments in pre-university Mathematics education that are set to have a major influence on the issue of students’ transitions into higher education.

The report authors are Jeremy Hodgen, Mary McAlinden and Anthony Tomei.  To access the report click here.