The Necessity of Maths Support Centres in Higher Level Education.

There is a crisis in Maths Education in this country. One reflection of this is the huge numbers of secondary school students who pass state exams, yet still display alarming weaknesses in basic mathematical manipulations and understanding. The weaknesses are very obvious when these students continue on to third-level education. Even if students can apply a method, they generally do not understand exactly what they are doing. As a result of these problems, students lack the confidence or courage to tackle any new material. They are reluctant to discuss Mathematics, and they often do not understand why they are struggling. One step third-level institutes are taking to combat this problem is to establish Mathematics Support Centres. I will use the Maths Support Centre (MSC) in the National University of Ireland (NUIM) as a case study to discuss the impact of such facilities on the student learning experience