Factors influencing students’ perceptions of their quantitative skills

Abstract

There is international agreement that quantitative skills (QS) are an essential graduate competence in science. QS refer to the application of mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning in science. This study reports on the use of the Science Students Skills Inventory to capture final year science students’ perceptions of their QS across multiple indicators, at two Australian research-intensive universities. Statistical analysis reveals several variables predicting higher levels of self-rated competence in QS: students’ grade point average, students’ perceptions of inclusion of QS in the science degree programme, their confidence in QS, and their belief that QS will be useful in the future. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for designing science curricula more effectively to build students’ QS throughout science degree programmes. Suggestions for further research are offered.

Keywords:

• quantitative skills
• higher education
• mathematics
• science
• curriculum
• student perspective

Acknowledgements

We thank the students who participated in our study. We acknowledge the statistical contribution of Victoria Andrews. The tremendous feedback from the reviewers contributed substantially to the quality of this publication.