Abstract:

Provision of additional academic support to at-risk students to ensure academic success has essentially been considered as a key strategic imperative within the higher education sector. Various strategic remedial interventions have been adopted by higher education institutions in South Africa with a view to provide the necessary critical additional academic support to at-risk students. These strategic remedial interventions are specifically aimed at fostering adequate student academic performance through their envisaged inherent efficacy. However, inadequate student academic performance in mathematics remains a pervasive pedagogic challenge afflicting meaningful development of mathematical skills. In response to this key imperative, South African at-risk undergraduate engineering students’ attitudes towards mathematics were assessed through the administration of Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI). The administration of Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory formed part of a survey which was carried out after the students were adequately exposed to university instruction. The students were enrolled for a degree program in Civil Engineering of which mathematics forms an integral part. This cohort of students was purposively selected as they were placed in the extended curriculum program on the basis of their inadequate overall admission score. Analysis of responses to the questionnaire revealed that the students expressed largely positive sentiments about mathematics as a key knowledge domain. This positive disposition can partly be attributed to the effectiveness of the critical additional academic support provided as an inherent characteristic feature of the extended curriculum program. Theoretical implications for meaningful development of mathematical skills are discussed.

Keywords:

Mathematical skills, strategic remedial interventions, assessment.