Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Sa iulina, E., & Labano a, O. (2025). A Con empo a y
Pe spec i e on he Role o Ma hema ics in Ca ee Readiness Based on S uden s'
Pe cep ions. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.),
SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion
(SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631652.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF
MATHEMATICS IN CAREER READINESS BASED ON STUDENTS'
PERCEPTIONS
E. Sa iulina, O. Labano a
TTK Uni e si y o Applied Sciences, Tallinn, Es onia,
Con e ence Key A eas: Teaching ma hema ics and physics in enginee ing
educa ion, Imp o ing highe enginee ing educa ion h ough esea ching enginee ing
educa ion
Keywo ds: Ma hema ics Educa ion, Enginee ing Educa ion, Enginee ing Educa ion,
Ca ee Readiness
ABSTRACT
Ma hema ics plays a undamen al ole in enginee ing educa ion, equipping s uden s
wi h c i ical analy ical and p oblem-sol ing skills essen ial o p o essional success.
Howe e , s uden s o en pe cei e ma hema ics as abs ac and disconnec ed om
eal-wo ld enginee ing applica ions, c ea ing a gap be ween heo e ical knowledge
and p ac ical indus y equi emen s. This s udy examines he pe cep ions o 176
s uden s a TTK Uni e si y o Applied Sciences ega ding he ole o ma hema ics in
hei ca ee eadiness. The indings e eal ha while s uden s acknowledge he
impo ance o ma hema ics in de eloping p oblem-sol ing abili ies, hey exp ess
unce ain y abou i s di ec ele ance in he job ma ke . The s udy highligh s he need
o pedagogical s a egies ha in eg a e applied ma hema ics wi h p ac ical
enginee ing asks, ensu ing be e alignmen be ween educa ion and indus y
expec a ions. Recommenda ions include cu iculum modi ica ions o enhance eal-
wo ld applica ions o ma hema ical concep s and s onge indus y-academia
collabo a ion o b idge he pe cei ed disconnec be ween ma hema ics educa ion
and p o essional equi emen s.
1 INTRODUCTION
Ma hema ics se es as a ounda ional pilla in enginee ing educa ion, p o iding
s uden s wi h he analy ical and p oblem-sol ing skills necessa y o p o essional
success. Despi e i s ecognized impo ance, s uden s o en pe cei e ma hema ics as
abs ac and disconnec ed om eal-wo ld enginee ing applica ions. This gap
be ween heo e ical knowledge and p ac ical ele ance has been widely discussed in
enginee ing educa ion esea ch, ye challenges pe sis in aligning ma hema ics
cu icula wi h indus y needs.
The ole o ma hema ics in ca ee eadiness is especially c i ical in applied sciences
ins i u ions, whe e s uden s mus ansi ion seamlessly om academic lea ning o
p o essional p ac ice. TTK Uni e si y o Applied Sciences (TTK UAS) is one such
ins i u ion p epa ing s uden s o ca ee s in enginee ing and echnology-d i en ields.
Unde s anding how s uden s a TTK UAS pe cei e he ele ance o ma hema ics in
hei s udies and u u e ca ee s is c ucial o imp o ing ma hema ics ins uc ion and
ensu ing be e alignmen wi h indus y expec a ions.
This s udy is based on a 2025 su ey o 176 TTK UAS s uden s, explo ing
hei a i udes owa d ma hema ics, hei pe cei ed p epa edness o p o essional
applica ions, and he e ec i eness o di e en eaching me hods. The esea ch
add esses he ollowing key ques ion: How do s uden s pe cei e he impo ance o
ma hema ics in hei ca ee s? By analyzing s uden esponses, his esea ch
p o ides insigh s in o he cu en s eng hs and weaknesses o ma hema ics
educa ion a TTK UAS. The indings will con ibu e o ongoing discussions in
enginee ing educa ion, o e ing ecommenda ions on how cu icula and eaching
s a egies can be enhanced o be e suppo s uden s in hei ca ee eadiness.
Ma hema ics has long been ecognized as a co ne s one o enginee ing educa ion. I
p o ides he analy ical ools and logical amewo ks necessa y o p oblem-sol ing,
design, modeling, and simula ion ac oss all enginee ing disciplines. Recen esea ch
highligh s ha a s ong ounda ion in ma hema ics enables s uden s o g asp co e
enginee ing concep s mo e e ec i ely and acili a es li elong lea ning in apidly
e ol ing echnological ields. Con empo a y enginee ing cu icula emphasize he
impo ance o calculus, linea algeb a, and di e en ial equa ions as p e equisi es o
unde s anding mo e ad anced enginee ing opics (Bols ad e al., 2022).
Howe e , ecen s udies (Pepin e al., 2021) poin ou he ecu ing challenge
o agmen a ion be ween ma hema ics and i s applica ions in enginee ing con ex s.
Despi e he ma hema ical igo in ea ly uni e si y cou ses, s uden s o en s uggle o
see he ele ance o abs ac concep s in eal-wo ld enginee ing p oblems. This
disconnec aises he need o pedagogical s a egies ha explici ly link heo e ical
ma hema ics wi h p ac ical enginee ing asks.
S uden a i udes owa d ma hema ics signi ican ly in luence hei
engagemen , pe o mance, and pe sis ence in enginee ing p og ams. Recen s udies
ha e highligh ed ha s uden s o en pe cei e ma hema ics as di icul , abs ac , and
disconnec ed om hei u u e ca ee s (Kwon e al., 2023; Eidlin-Le y e al.,
2023).These pe cep ions can lead o anxie y and educed mo i a ion, a ec ing
lea ning ou comes and e en con ibu ing o d opou a es in STEM ields.
Recen esea ch highligh s ha s uden s' emo ional expe iences wi h ma hema ics—
shaped by p io lea ning encoun e s and pe sonal belie s—play a c ucial ole in hei
o e all engagemen and academic pe o mance. Fo many s uden s, e en hose who
demons a e s ong ma hema ical abili y, a lack o con idence pe sis s when i comes
o applying hei knowledge in eal-wo ld con ex s. This unde sco es he impo ance
o ins uc ional s a egies ha no only de elop concep ual unde s anding bu also
nu u e a posi i e emo ional ela ionship wi h ma hema ics (Goldin e al., 2023).
Educa ion In he con ex o ca ee eadiness, ma hema ical compe ence is c ucial
no only o academic success bu also o p o essional e ec i eness. Ma hema ical
skills unde pin many echnical compe encies equi ed in enginee ing oles, such as
da a analysis, op imiza ion, sys ems modeling, and quali y con ol. Employe s
inc easingly seek g adua es who can apply quan i a i e easoning o sol e complex,
eal-wo ld p oblems (Panaou a e al., 2024).
In eg a ed STEM educa ion models emphasize he seamless connec ion
be ween subjec s and ad oca e o con ex ual lea ning whe e ma hema ics is augh
h ough eal-li e enginee ing challenges. Such app oaches ha e been ound o
enhance s uden mo i a ion and he ans e abili y o ma hema ical knowledge o
wo kplace con ex s. Ne e heless, he e emains a need o u he alignmen
be ween wha is augh in ma hema ics cou ses and he speci ic skills demanded by
mode n enginee ing p o essions (Yabaş&Boyacı, 2022).
While ecen li e a u e unde sco es he impo ance o ma hema ics in
enginee ing educa ion and i s impac on ca ee eadiness, he e emains a
signi ican gap in unde s anding how s uden s a applied sciences ins i u ions
pe cei e his ela ionship. Mos p io s udies ocus on esea ch-in ensi e uni e si ies
o seconda y educa ion, o en o e looking oca ional and applica ion-o ien ed highe
educa ion con ex s.
This s udy add esses he gap by examining s uden pe cep ions a TTK
Uni e si y o Applied Sciences, whe e he emphasis lies on p ac ical enginee ing
aining. By in es iga ing how s uden s e alua e he use ulness o ma hema ics o
hei u u e ca ee s and he e ec i eness o cu en eaching me hods, his esea ch
p o ides nuanced insigh s in o he in e sec ion o educa ion and employabili y. The
indings aim o in o m cu iculum de elopmen and pedagogical p ac ices ha be e
align ma hema ical ins uc ion wi h he needs o enginee ing s uden s and he
expec a ions o he labo ma ke .
2 METHODOLOGY
This s udy is based on a c oss-sec ional su ey conduc ed in 2025 among
s uden s a TTK Uni e si y o Applied Sciences (TTK UAS). The su ey aimed o
assess s uden s' pe cep ions o he ole o ma hema ics in hei educa ion and ca ee
eadiness, as well as hei expe iences wi h ma hema ics ins uc ion. The
ques ionnai e was designed o cap u e bo h quan i a i e and quali a i e da a,
allowing o a comp ehensi e analysis o s uden a i udes, challenges, and
p e e ences. The s udy aligns wi h he b oade goal o imp o ing ma hema ics
educa ion by iden i ying gaps be ween heo e ical ins uc ion and p ac ical
applica ions in enginee ing ields. The su ey included 176 s uden s om TTK UAS,
ep esen ing a di e se ange o enginee ing and applied sciences disciplines ac oss
di e en academic yea s (1s yea : 38%, 2nd yea : 29%, 3 d/4 h yea : 33%). The link
o he ques ionnai e, p epa ed ia Google Fo ms, was dis ibu ed by eache s om
he Cen e o Sciences o all 1,071 s uden s en olled in enginee ing p og ams a
TTK UAS. This esul ed in a esponse a e o app oxima ely 16.4%, which is
conside ed a good pe cen age gi en ha no addi ional incen i es we e o e ed o
mo i a e pa icipa ion in he s udy.
The demog aphics e lec ed he ins i u ion's s uden body, wi h a mix o ecen high
school g adua es and indi iduals wi h p io indus y expe ience. Da a collec ion was
conduc ed anonymously ia an online pla o m, ensu ing con iden iali y and
encou aging hones esponses. The ques ionnai e consis s o a ious ques ion ypes
designed o assess s uden s' a i udes, p epa edness, and expe iences wi h
ma hema ics educa ion.
One o he ques ions in he ques ionnai e, 'Why do you hink i is necessa y o
s udy Highe Ma hema ics a uni e si y?', di ec ly add essed he esea ch ques ion.
To explo e his, six s a emen s we e p esen ed:
• S a emen 1 (ST1): Ma hema ics ains he b ain o sol e a ious enginee ing
p oblems success ully and c ea i ely.
• S a emen 2 (ST2): I helps wi h unde s anding he a ious ela ionships ha
u u e enginee s need o know.
• S a emen 3 (ST3): Many opics augh in specializa ion cou ses a e based on
ma hema ical p inciples.
• S a emen 4 (ST4): Lea ning ma hema ics p omo es c ea i i y and accu acy in
u u e specialis s.
• S a emen 5 (ST5): A specialis wi h ma hema ical unde s anding can easily
comple e asks equi ing logical hinking.
• S a emen 6 (ST6): Employe s highly alue employees wi h s ong ma h skills.
Responden s could selec hei answe s on a ou -poin Like scale anging om
's ongly ag ee' o 'disag ee'.
3 RESULTS
Be o e conduc ing he analysis, he collec ed su ey da a unde wen a igo ous da a
cleaning and p epa a ion p ocess o ensu e accu acy and consis ency. Ag eemen -
based esponses we e mapped acco ding o p ede ined scales anged om 4
(s ongly ag ee) o 1 (disag ee) (see Tab. 1).
Table 1. Desc ip i e S a is ics o he S a emen s
S a emen
S ongly
Ag ee = 4
Ag ee = 3
Pa ially
Ag ee = 2
Disag ee=
1
Mode
Mean
S d De
In e p e a ion
ST1
83 (46.6%)
64 (36.0%)
26 (14.6%)
3 (1.7%)
4 (S ongly
Ag ee)
3.28
0.72
High
ag eemen
ST2
86 (48.9%)
59 (33.5%)
22 (12.5%)
9 (5.1%)
4(S ongly
Ag ee)
3.26
0.80
High
ag eemen
ST3
65 (36.9%)
74 (42.0%)
28 (15.9%)
9 (5.1%)
3 (Ag ee)
3.11
0.81
Mode a e
ag eemen
ST4
71 (40.3%)
64 (36.4%)
30 (17.0%)
11 (6.2%)
4 (S ongly
Ag ee)
3.11
0.87
Mode a e
ag eemen
ST5
79 (44.8%)
58 (33.0%)
29 (16.5%)
10 (5.7%)
4 (S ongly
Ag ee)
3.17
0.86
Mode a e
ag eemen
ST6
34 (19.3%)
54 (30.7%)
61 (34.7%)
27 (15.3%)
3 (Ag ee)
2.54
1.01
Lowes
ag eemen
S uden s gene ally pe cei e ma hema ics as highly impo an o hei ca ee s,
pa icula ly in de eloping skills essen ial o enginee ing. The s onges ag eemen
was wi h he s a emen highligh ing ma h's p ac ical applica ions. Nea ly hal o
s uden s (46.6%) s ongly ag eed ha ma hema ics se es as a "b ain aine " o
sol ing enginee ing p oblems c ea i ely, wi h ano he 36% ag eeing (mean = 3.28/4).
Simila ly, 48.9% s ongly ag eed ha ma h helps hem g asp key ela ionships in
enginee ing (mean = 3.26).
While mos s uden s ag ee ma h helps wi h impo an skills like c ea i e p oblem-
sol ing (sco ing 3.1-3.3 ou o 4), hey' e much less su e abou whe he employe s
ac ually ca e abou hese ma h skills. Only abou 1 in 5 s uden s s ongly ag eed ha
"employe s alue ma h skills," wi h abou a hi d being somewha unsu e and 15%
disag eeing s ongly - his was he mos disag eemen we saw on any ques ion. While
he able 1 p o ides de ailed esponse equencies, he accompanying cha (Fig. 1)
o e s an immedia e isual summa y o s uden pe cep ions. The s acked ba s clea ly
highligh he s onges ag eemen (g een segmen s) o s a emen s abou ma h’s ole
in enginee ing p oblem-sol ing, con as ed wi h he no able scep icism ( ed/o ange
segmen s) owa d employe alua ion o ma h skills. This isual o ma unde sco es
key pa e ns—such as he disconnec be ween academic and ca ee pe spec i es—
mo e in ui i ely han aw numbe s alone, helping eade s quickly iden i y p io i ies o
cu iculum imp o emen .
Fig. 1. S uden Pe cep ions o Ma hema ics in Enginee ing Ca ee s
Two key issues s and ou :
1. The e's a misma ch be ween wha s uden s lea n in school and wha hey hink
employe s wan . They belie e ma h helps hem hink be e , bu a en' con inced his
ma e s o bosses.
2. S uden s see mo e alue in ma h's p ac ical uses (like sol ing enginee ing
p oblems) han in ague ideas abou i being "good o ca ee s."
These means s uden s belie e ma h makes hem be e enginee s, bu hey' e
scep ical abou whe he employe s no ice o ca e abou hese ma h skills. This
sugges s schools migh need o do a be e job showing how ma h connec s o eal
wo kplace needs.
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The indings align wi h p io esea ch emphasizing he impo ance o
ma hema ics in enginee ing educa ion bu also highligh pe sis en challenges.
S udies by Pepin e al. (2021) and Panaou a e al. (2024) sugges ha s uden s
s uggle o see he di ec ele ance o heo e ical ma hema ics in p ac ical
applica ions. This is consis en wi h ou esul s, whe e s uden s ecognized he
cogni i e bene i s o ma hema ics bu exp essed skep icism abou i s alue in he job
ma ke . Fu he mo e, ou s udy con i ms p e ious indings ha in eg a ing applied
050 100 150 200
I is a b ain aine o be able o
success ully and c ea i ely sol e a ious…
To unde s and he a ious ela ionships
ha u u e enginee s need o know and…
A numbe o opics augh in he
specialisa ion cou ses a e based on…
Lea ning ma hema ics p omo es he
de elopmen o c ea i i y and accu acy…
A specialis wi h an unde s anding o
ma hema ics is able o easily comple e…
Employe s highly alue employees wi h
good ma h skills
S ongly Ag ee = 4 Ag ee = 3 Pa ially Ag ee = 2 Disag ee=1
ma hema ics mo e explici ly wi hin enginee ing cu icula enhances s uden
engagemen and pe cei ed use ulness.
The s udy unde sco es he necessi y o mo e applica ion-d i en eaching
s a egies in ma hema ics educa ion. Enginee ing educa o s should inco po a e eal-
wo ld p oblem-sol ing scena ios, indus y collabo a ions, and in e disciplina y
p ojec s o enhance s uden engagemen . By con ex ualizing ma hema ical concep s
in p ac ical enginee ing challenges, s uden s may be e app ecia e hei ele ance
and de elop s onge con idence in applying hese skills p o essionally. As a
summa y o key indings, h ee pos ula es can be o mula ed:
1. The majo i y o s uden s ecognize ma hema ics as essen ial o de eloping
p oblem-sol ing and analy ical skills ele an o enginee ing.
2. While s uden s app ecia e ma hema ics' ole in enginee ing educa ion, he e is
unce ain y abou i s pe cei ed alue in he job ma ke .
3. Teaching me hods ha link ma hema ical concep s o p ac ical enginee ing
applica ions a e mo e posi i ely ecei ed.
Su ey esponses may no accu a ely e lec s uden s' ue compe encies, as
hey a e based on sel -assessmen a he han objec i e measu emen . Addi ionally,
he indings may no be applicable o s uden s om o he disciplines o ins i u ions,
limi ing he gene alizabili y o he esul s.
A longi udinal s udy could explo e how s uden s' pe cep ions e ol e o e hei
academic and p o essional jou neys. Fu he esea ch should in es iga e employe
pe spec i es on ma hema ical compe encies o b idge pe cei ed gaps in wo k o ce
expec a ions. Expe imen al s udies es ing new pedagogical me hods (e.g., p oblem-
based lea ning o digi al simula ions) could p o ide empi ical e idence on imp o ing
ma hema ics educa ion.
To s eng hen he connec ion be ween ma hema ics educa ion and ca ee
eadiness, ins i u ions should ake se e al p ac ical s eps. Fi s , ma h and
enginee ing depa men s should collabo a e mo e closely o de elop cou sewo k ha
in eg a es ma hema ical concep s wi h eal-wo ld enginee ing applica ions. This
in e disciplina y app oach will help s uden s see how ma h di ec ly suppo s hei
ield. Addi ionally, inco po a ing mo e indus y esea ch and p ojec s in o he
cu iculum will demons a e he p ac ical alue o ma h skills in p o essional se ings.
Finally, ins i u ions should p oac i ely communica e how employe s use and alue
ma hema ics, whe he h ough gues lec u es by indus y expe s, mo e isible
examples in ca ee counselling, o pa ne ships wi h enginee ing i ms. These
changes will help b idge he gap be ween class oom lea ning and wo kplace
expec a ions, ensu ing ha no only do s uden s unde s and he impo ance o ma h
o hei u u e ca ee s, bu employe s also alue employees wi h s ong
ma hema ical skills.
To u he ein o ce he link be ween ma hema ics educa ion and ca ee
eadiness, ins i u ions should conside he ollowing s a egies:
• In e disciplina y Teaching: Ma hema ics cou ses could be co- augh by
ma hema icians and enginee s, ensu ing heo e ical concep s a e di ec ly linked o
p ac ical applica ions.
• Indus y Collabo a ion: Regula wo kshops wi h indus y p o essionals could
be in eg a ed in o he cu iculum, showcasing eal-wo ld p oblems ha equi e
ma hema ical solu ions.
• S uden In ol emen : Encou age s uden pa icipa ion in indus y-sponso ed
p ojec s o compe i ions o apply ma hema ical skills in au hen ic con ex s.
These ideas a e echoed by o he esea che s as well (e.g., S ephan & Dieke ,
2022; Akgunduz & Mesu oglu, 2021; Singh & Kaune , 2025), who a gue ha
aligning ma hema ical ins uc ion wi h indus y- ele an applica ions can imp o e
bo h s uden mo i a ion and wo k o ce eadiness..
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