Psychosocial factors, level of mathematics and progression in an access programme

International audienceThis study examined the relationship between Access students' psychosocial characteristics, the level of mathematics module (advanced, intermediate or fundamental) they chose and their progression to higher education. A quantitative approach was adopted for this portion of the study, which took place over three academic years, 2017-2020. Questionnaires were completed by 184 students in the Access programme at Technological University Dublin. Results revealed that students with higher belief in their mathematics ability were more likely to study advanced mathematics and more likely to progress to higher education. Male students were more likely to study advanced mathematics than females and non-Irish nationals who studied advanced mathematics had higher belief in their mathematics abilities than Irish nationals but were less likely to progress than their peers