Mathematics support program for commencing engineering students between 1990 and 1996: an Australian case study

Abstract

For the last twenty years or more higher education institutions have been concerned about the participation of students in engineering studies. Much of this concern centres around the ability of students to perform appropriate mathematics. This paper reports on the level of mathematical skills of engineering students entering a regional Australian university. In the seven years of the study, students have continued to have difficulties with estimation, fractions, indices, order of operations, graphs and basic algebra. The paper further reports on an intervention strategy which was designed to address these difficulties which has improved the success of participants repeatedly over the seven years of the program.