How Does a Mathematician Fit in? A Mixed-Methods Analysis of University Students' Sense of Belonging in Mathematics

AbstractUniversity mathematics has been described as a setting that has challenges in inviting everyone to be part of the mathematics community. Thus, university mathematics offers an important context for research on belonging. For this study, we utilised a mixed-methods approach to investigate the various ways mathematics students belong or do not belong to the mathematics community. Based on both quantitative and qualitative analyses, three student profiles were identified: Members of the Scientific Community, Members of the Social Community, and Non-Members. The first profile highlights students’ belonging to the scientific community, the second profile emphasises belonging to the social community of students, and in the third profile students’ responses reflected various ways of not belonging to the mathematics community. In addition, we elaborate on how university mathematics learning environments both promote and hinder students’ sense of belonging. Overall, the study broadens the understanding of the ways of belonging in the mathematics context and provides suggestions for teaching to address the issues of exclusion that are currently present in the culture of university mathematics.