THE TRANSITION TO POSTGRADUATE STUDY IN MATHEMATICS: A THINKING STYLES PERSPECTIVE

In this paper we focus on the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study in mathematics through the lens of the construct ‘thinking style ’ as defined by Sternberg (1997). A cross-sectional study (N=54) was conducted in the Department of Mathematics of a large university in Greece. The data analysis reveals some statistically significant (though far from straightforward) stylistic differences between the undergraduate mathematics students and those who follow a taught graduate mathematics degree: the undergraduates appear to have a stronger preference for details, concreteness and conformity in their thinking than the postgraduates