The widening gap – a Swedish perspective

Abstract. Transition problems from secondary to tertiary level in mathematics have been a recurrent issue in Sweden. This paper summarises the development during the last decades. Results from two recent research studies that illuminate the transition problem in Sweden are presented. The first one characterises the widening gap, in content and in approach, between secondary school and first year university courses. This study is based on empirical data from a major Swedish technical university. The second study presented in the article deals with students ’ encounter with mathematical proof and is based on a large data material from one main Swedish university. We discuss the influence on the current transition problems of school reforms and of the great expansion of higher education in Sweden during the last 10 – 15 years in view of the results from the research studies