We have been investigating university student conceptions of mathematics over a number of years, with the goal of enhancing student learning and professional development. We developed an open-ended survey of three questions, on "What is mathematics" and two questions about the role of mathematics in the students' future. This…

In this paper, we report on an international study of undergraduate mathematics students; conceptions of mathematics. Almost 1,200 students in five countries completed a short survey including three open-ended questions asking about their views of mathematics and its role in their future studies and planned professions. Responses were analysed…

In this paper, we describe and investigate three aspects of learning mathematics: intention, approach and outcome. These aspects have emerged from interviews with students where their experience of learning mathematics, their understanding of mathematics as a discipline field, and their perception of work as a mathematician were the objects of…