Why do students not avail of mathematics support? A case study of first year students at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

Previous work concerning the evaluation of mathematics support services at NUI Maynooth showed that students who made use of the help available were more likely to succeed in their examinations than those who did not. It was also noticed that a significant number of at-risk students did not attend the Mathematics Support Centre. In an attempt to ascertain the reasons for this, students who were repeating mathematics modules were interviewed about their use of mathematics support. The results show that fear plays a major role in non-engagement