This kind of identity is important for maths students’ motivation

Students' perceptions of their own identity can offer insight into why some lose motivation or underperform in maths.

"The background of the research project is that we know less about how motivation for maths develops than about the development of math skills," says Jelena Radišić.

(Photo: Shutterstock / NTB)

Magnus Heie Communications Adviser

Presented by: University of Oslo

Published 17 May 2025 - 00:01

A common belief in mathematical research is that students become less motivated for the subject as they get older.

"This is correct, but the decline is not the same in all areas. Additionally, this trend varies between different countries and school systems," says Jelena Radišić.

She is a researcher at the University of Oslo's Department of Teacher Education and School Research.

Research shows that fourth graders are less motivated for maths than third graders, even though they have learned more.

"We know that students' perception of their own competence and beliefs related to the subject greatly affect their willingness to learn more. Therefore, we wanted to find out if some students have what we call a mathematical identity," says Radišić.

"Can I become good at maths?"

"This question reveals a great deal about how students perceive themselves and how others perceive them. Mathematical identity can help us understand why some lose motivation or do not perform at their best," explains Radišić.

She continues:

"When we observe students in Norway, their sense of being a 'maths person' is more closely linked to how genuinely interested they are in mathematics and how useful they find it, rather than to their maths scores."

Radišić further explains that in countries where grades are introduced earlier in the school system, the connection between motivation and maths scores is stronger.

The culture we live in affects our mathematical identity

Having a mathematical identity is not just about the individual student. It is also influenced by the surrounding society. The school system, what teachers think, and societal expectations for the subject all play a part.

"For Norwegian students, we found that there was low correlation between their maths results and whether they saw themselves as a maths person," says Radišić.

Student who see themselves as maths people are more genuinely interested in maths, enjoy tackling maths problems, and engage with maths in daily life.

"We see that boys are more likely to see themselves as maths people than girls," she says.

What can maths teachers do to motivate students?

In the project, researchers also looked at what teachers can do to help more students see themselves as capable in maths.

"We created a booklet for teachers, combining our data with the experiences of the educators from the project," says Radišić, adding:

"We also see that encouraging students to use their own experiences in the subject is helpful. This can make students more involved and encourage them to see themselves as math people."

It is essential for schools to foster an environment where all students receive support and are encouraged to engage with and explore the mathematical world.

At the same time, it is equally important for these topics to be recognised within schools and for teachers to develop the competence to motivate students.

"Working on student motivation is an area where teachers can learn from their colleagues and share their own experiences to help others," says Radišić.

What can guardians do?

When guardians show that maths is interesting, fun, and enjoyable, children also become more motivated for the subject.

However, if guardians say that learning maths is difficult, it negatively affects children. They perform worse in the subject and lose the desire to learn.

Children who were very motivated to learn maths also achieved better results in the subject.

"Motivation is like an engine that helps us increase learning on a long-term basis," says Radišić.

Facts about the MATHMot research project

MATHMot stands for Co-constructing Mathematics Motivation in Primary Education - A Longitudinal Study in Six European Countries.
The project was conducted between 2020 and 2024.
Researchers used both quantitative and qualitative data in the project.
Students from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, and Serbia participated in the study.
The target group was students in third, fourth, and fifth grade, from 50 schools in each country.