Fresh perspectives on motivation, engagement, and identity: A conclusion

The 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education [ICME-13] was organized in Hamburg, Germany in 2016. This chapter is the conclusion to the book composed of the selected papers presented in the Topic Study Group 28 on “Affect, beliefs and identity in mathematics education”. The book reflects the wide theoretical and conceptual variety in the field of affect, from embodied perspectives to social theories. This richness is reflected in the varied terminology and methodology apparent in this book. To evaluate the terminology, we analyzed the 4,739 affect term occurrences found in the chapters. We found belief to be the most frequently appearing affect concept, and that many motivational concepts (e.g. motivation, interest, value, goal, and meaning) have high prominence in the current volume. With respect to methodology, we found great variation from in-depth qualitative case studies to very large longitudinal and comparative studies using quantitative methods. Based on the contributions to this volume questionnaires and interviews are the dominating research methods for mathematics-related affect. In this chapter, we also reflect how the various chapters address the different roles of affect as a relatively stable trait and as the dynamically evolving state. Moreover, we reflect how the articles address the special nature of mathematics with its rigorous logic, cumulative structure, highly formalized special language, abstractness, and its role as a gatekeeper for many careers. Copyright © 2019 The Author(s).