©ARC Page | 135 Improved Undergraduate Perceptions of Financial Mathematics by Using ICT in Teaching

Abstract: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) delivers diverse resources that can apply to teaching of mathematics. Deployment of such tools presents grounds to accept that they foster a more positive perception of this matter in higher education students. This research work aims to find the structure of variables that lead to understanding the undergraduate perceptions of financial mathematics, resulting from technology-assisted teaching. The Scale of Attitudes toward and Perceptions of Financial Mathematics (García and Edel, 2008) was used to gather data associated with the undergraduate perceptions of the variables building up the ICT-assisted teaching strategy. A survey was administered to 512 students at two Mexican universities, and factor analysis was conducted on the collected data. The results give evidence to conclude that, for these undergraduates, the involved variables (contents of history of mathematics, workshop-style class, computer platforms, programming in spreadsheet, design of financial simulators, and virtual communities) were conducive to positive perceptions of the financial mathematics. The workshop-style class and the design of financial simulators are the variables contributing the most to explain this phenomenon