The role of affect in failure in mathematics at the university level: the tertiary crisis

Abstract

The tertiary transition between secondary school and University appears to be an insurmountable struggle for many students. This is also the case, surprisingly, in a certain sense, of students enrolled in the Mathematics degree, and therefore students considered “gifted” with respect to mathematics. This case seems particularly interesting from an affective point of view: these students often live failure in mathematics as a tragedy, and – above all – initially they are not able to interpret their failure. For these reasons, it appears crucial to investigate which role is played by emotions in the arise and management of this crisis, and how the students’ view of mathematics and their self-perception develop in the tertiary crisis period.