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A multi-method study of post-16 vocational education students shows that, after transitioning from school, students’ experiences can reshape their beliefs, emotional responses, and attitudes toward mathematics. The “personal image of mathematics” construct captures these changes and highlights learning features that support positive images, often enabled by applied curricula and teaching approaches.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/changing-images-of-mathematics-in-the-transition-from-school-to-vocational-education/589088/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/changing-images-of-mathematics-in-the-transition-from-school-to-vocational-education/589088.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Nguyễn Văn Học","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What problem does the paper address about mathematics in England?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It addresses the widespread disaffection with mathematics and the common public perception of the subject as remote and inaccessible, which has not shown clear improvement over time.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the transition from school to vocational education affect students?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Students’ experiences after transition can change their beliefs, emotional responses, and attitudes toward mathematics, leading them to develop new “images” of the subject.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What role do curriculum and teaching approach play in shaping students’ images?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Exposure to a curriculum focused on application (rather than knowledge), along with different teaching approaches, supports students in developing alternative views of mathematics; shifts in students’ values also increase the relevance of this applied form.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},589088,1792192456,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1374402739827,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000c97e7351f1a627?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1787885694763230660","Changing images of mathematics in the transition from school to vocational  \neducation  \nDiane Dalby  \nUniversity of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK  \n\u003C[diane.dalby@nottingham.ac.uk](diane.dalby@nottingham.ac.uk))>  \nAbstract  \nPublic perceptions of mathematics in England are often of a remote inaccessible academic discipline, and disaffection with the subject is a widespread problem. Results from a multi-method study of post- 16 students in vocational education in England show however how students’ experiences of mathematics after their transition from school to vocational education can lead to changes in their beliefs, emotional responses and attitudes to mathematics. The construct of a personal image of mathematics provides a model to capture these changes and leads to an examination of the features of students’ learning experiences that allow positive images of mathematics to develop. Negative images are often grounded in prior experiences of failure and disaffection at school but exposure to a mathematics curriculum with a focus on application rather than knowledge, in a different educational setting, helps students develop an alternative view of the subject to the common image in society. Experiences of a different teaching approach also contribute to these new images, whilst shifts in students’ values make their new encounters with a more applied form of mathematics particularly relevant.  \nKey words: Mathematics, images, affect, vocational education.  \nIntroduction  \nAn extensive review of post-16 mathematics education in England (Smith, 2017) highlighted the prevalence of poor attitudes to mathematics in society and the need to gain better understanding of this problem. Negative views of mathematics have been reported for some time in England (e.g. Buxton, 1981; Cockcroft, 1982) without evidence of any improvement or how this might be achieved. Although dominant attitudes in some countries differ, England is not alone in identifying negative attitudes to mathematics permeating society (Basic Skills Agency, 1997) and public images that commonly capture the subject as being remote and inaccessible (Ernest, 2008; Leder & Forgasz, 2010) . Mathematics has historically been considered in many countries as the domain of a select minority with special ability (Buxton, 1981; Picker & Berry, 2000; Volmink, 1994) leading to contrasts between the views of mathematicians and the general public (Furinghetti, 1993) . Impressions of secrecy, exclusivity and a‘gate-keeping’ role have created a controlling but divisive function for the discipline (Volmink, 1994), which is often associated with polarised self-beliefs, of either having the capacity to understand the subject or being unable to comprehend it at all (Furinghetti, 1993) . Such beliefs have led to opposing opinions, in which mathematics is claimed to be either loved or hated.  \nIn contrast to these responses, ethnomathematics (d'Ambrosio, 1985) presents an alternative view of the subject as an intrinsic part of local cultures across the world, naturally embedded into the life experience of an individual. This suggests an accessible type of mathematics of a more applied nature that is used widely, although this frequently remains invisible in everyday life and work (Coben, 2002; Wedege, 2010) . This view of mathematics does not feature strongly within an academically  \norientated education system such as exists in England and may be largely unrecognised by the public but is nevertheless woven into the fabric of daily life.  \nA dichotomy between a public image of mathematics as a remote academic discipline and experiences of mathematics in applied forms surfaces in English post-16 vocational education when students encounter alternative curricula such as functional mathematics. Functional skills mathematics focusses on applications in a range of contexts, in contrast to the more knowledge-based General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) taken at age 16 years in school. Studen","cbCaiaQosPOuPdQn","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaQosPOuPdQn","pdf",294404,13,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Background on public perceptions and attitudes\n## Alternative perspectives (ethnomathematics)\n# Context\n## English education system and vocational pathways\n# Conceptual framework and research questions\n## Personal image of mathematics\n# Findings and implications","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the paper address about mathematics in England?\",\"answer\":\"It addresses the widespread disaffection with mathematics and the common public perception of the subject as remote and inaccessible, which has not shown clear improvement over time.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the transition from school to vocational education affect students?\",\"answer\":\"Students’ experiences after transition can change their beliefs, emotional responses, and attitudes toward mathematics, leading them to develop new “images” of the subject.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do curriculum and teaching approach play in shaping students’ images?\",\"answer\":\"Exposure to a curriculum focused on application (rather than knowledge), along with different teaching approaches, supports students in developing alternative views of mathematics; shifts in students’ values also increase the relevance of this applied form.\"}]","Changing images of mathematics in the transition from school to vocational education | PDF",1792066528,33]