The Secondary-Tertiary Transition in Mathematics. Successful Students in Crisis

The transition from secondary school into university mathematics – also referred to as secondary-tertiary transition (STT) – is a sensitive moment for many students, also for those who have achieved high marks at the end of their schooling and are considered excellent in mathematics in the school context. The cognitive aspect has interested researchers since the late seventies, but the interest in other two aspects (social and emotional aspects) is growing. Recently we have investigated the emotional aspect further and we will report here on some of our findings underlying the necessary developments.