Mathematics Education Amidst the Pandemic: The Experiences of Freshmen University Students Challenged at the Margin

Abstract

This phenomenography describes and analyses the experiences of geographically challenged students in learning mathematics during the pandemic. The sample includes six geographically challenged first-year Bachelor of Secondary Education University students in a public State University in the Philippines. Data is collected using a semi-structured interview guide. Data was analysed using phenomenographic data analysis. Results show that the experiences of these geographically challenged students fall within three qualitatively different categories of description. These are new modalities and new mathematics learning experiences, mathematics difficulty vis-a-vis teaching styles and struggling, coping, and persisting. Challenges like personal, financial, technological, instructional, socio-economic, and geographic location persist as they pursue education in the new normal. These students attribute course difficulty in mathematics to pedagogical aspects, teaching approaches of instructors, personally challenging situations, and the inability to blend with the trend. Hence, school administrators may strengthen the quality of mathematics instruction in the university by considering the voices of the marginalised and not just offering a one-size-fits-all policy to make the mathematics curriculum flexible, inclusive, and equitable. This will address the demands and needs of the learners, especially the geographically challenged ones.