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Mathematical Modelling Education and Sense-making pp 51–61Cite as

Science Capital, Habitus, and Mathematical Modelling Practices in the Field of University Education

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Abstract

This chapter analyses two second-year undergraduate engineering students’ narratives of engagement with a mathematics course aimed at developing mathematical modelling competences. Both of these students have come to university with enough science capital to expect they will be successful in their mathematics courses and are confident in their mathematical knowledge and skills, but their narratives revealed the different value that they attribute to mathematics, which is reflected in their engagement with the mathematical modelling aspects of the course. Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice is used to understand the complexities of social practices in the field of higher education and to explain the different positions that these two students take regarding mathematical modelling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia

    Paul Hernandez-Martinez

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  1. Paul Hernandez-Martinez
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Correspondence to Paul Hernandez-Martinez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, VIC, Australia

    Gloria Ann Stillman

  2. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Christine Erna Lampen

  3. University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Gabriele Kaiser

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Hernandez-Martinez, P. (2020). Science Capital, Habitus, and Mathematical Modelling Practices in the Field of University Education. In: Stillman, G.A., Kaiser, G., Lampen, C.E. (eds) Mathematical Modelling Education and Sense-making. International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37673-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37673-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-37672-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-37673-4

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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