The gendered choice and role of mathematics in pre-tertiary education is maybe one of the most pertinent research topics in education literature (e.g., Ellison & Swanson, 2023; Else-Quest et al., 2010; Uerz et al, 2004; Van der Werfhorst et al., 2003). While Finnish girls outperform boys in mathematics in the comprehensive school, it seems that once they have a possibility to make educational choices after the comprehensive school, the interplay of the internal versus external frame of reference for academic self-concept (Marsh & Shavelson, 1985) sets in motion and leads girls away from math (see also Marsh, 1990; Marsh et al., 2015). In Finland, this has been reported in students’ choice both between the two tracks of the Finnish dual model of upper secondary education (academic vs. vocational), among the different vocational programs, and within the relatively open syllabus of academic upper secondary education (Kupiainen & Hotulainen, 2019). In the current presentation, we set to explore the interplay of students’ gender and math choice in the academic upper secondary education, and its relation to students’ later educational choices.

In the dual model of Finnish upper secondary education (academic and vocational tracks, 56 % vs. 44 % of the age cohort, respectively), ninth grade students have a right to choose among all programs across the country but entrance to academic track schools is based on students’ ninth grade GPA (grade point average). Reflecting girls’ better achievement, they form a majority among academic track students (56 %). Yet, reflecting a longstanding gender-imbalance in students’ attitude toward mathematics and despite Finnish girls outperforming boys in the OECD PISA study (e.g., Hiltunen et al., 2023) and their better grades in math in the comprehensive school (Kupiainen & Hotulainen, 2022, p. 140), there is a clear gender difference in students’ choice between the Basic and Advanced syllabi in mathematics at the upper secondary level after the comprehensive school where all students follow the same syllabus for all subjects (Kupiainen et al., 2018).  

The context of the presentation is a recent study of the impact of the Finnish higher education student selection reform of 2018 on academic upper secondary students’ study choices and wellbeing. Despite the long tradition of the Finnish matriculation examination with separate exams for each subject, Finnish tertiary education student admission has traditionally relied on a combination of field-specific entrance examinations and matriculation examination results. In 2018, a reform decreed that half of students in all fields of study shall be accepted based solely on their matriculation examination results and the other half solely on an entrance examination. The main goal of the reform was to speed Finnish students’ slow transit from secondary to tertiary education as due to a backlog of older matriculates vying for a place, two thirds of new matriculates have been yearly left without a place in higher education. The reform was backed by research on the drawbacks of the earlier entrance examination-based student selection (Pekkarinen & Sarvimäki, 2016) and tied the credit awarded for each subject-specific exam to the number of courses covered by the exam. The reform raised vocal criticism, mainly for Advanced Mathematics bringing most credit with its biggest course-load even in fields where it might appear of less value. Yet, the only earlier study on students’ relative success in the matriculation examination showed that on average, students of Advanced Mathematics fared in all exams they included in their examination (average 5,6 exams) better than students sitting for the exam in Basic Mathematics or with no mathematics exam, also allowed in the Finnish system (Kupiainen et al. 2018).

We set for the presentation two research questions: RQ1 How do students who choose Advanced Mathematics differ from students who choose Basic Mathematics? Dimensions to be explored will be a) gender, b) previous school achievement, c) current school achievement, d) choice of and investment in other subjects, d) plans for future education, e) motivational profile, and f) wellbeing/burnout? RQ2 How has the altered importance of matriculation examination results in higher education student admission affected upper secondary students’ choice of the subject-specific exams they choose for their matriculation examination, and how do students sitting for the Advanced vs. Basic Math exam (or not sitting for either) differ in their overall matriculation examination success? The data for the present study come from a wider research project regarding the impact of the higher education student admission reform of 2018, comprising register data for the 204,760 matriculates of 2016–2022, and survey and register data on the 4,620 first, second and third-year upper secondary students who participated in the study in autumn 2022. In the current presentation, we use the matriculation data to investigate the impact of the reform on students’ choices of the exams they include in their matriculation examination, using gender, math choice and overall success as the main references for group comparisons. The survey data and the related register data on the participating students’ study achievement (9th grade GPA and their grades for the study courses passed before the cut point of October 2022) will allow a closer exploration of the way students’ choice between Basic and Advanced Mathematics is related to their interest and commitment to studies in the other subjects, their motivation (goal orientation and agency beliefs), and their wellbeing or lack of it (burn-out). Reflecting the research questions, we will mainly rely on descriptive methods with group-level comparisons using MANOVA with a possible use of structural equation modelling for confirmatory factor analysis and mediation studies.

While 67 percent of boys choose the Advanced syllabus in mathematics, only 54 percent of girls make the same choice. Students’ choice between Basic and Advanced Mathematics, done after the first, common-to-all course on mathematics of the first period (à 7 weeks) of upper secondary studies was the strongest differentiator in almost all topics covered in the study, including not just students' learning and study success but also their well-being (Kupiainen et al. 2023). Students of Advanced Mathematics entered upper secondary education with a significantly higher GPA than students of Basic Math, and the situation remained almost the same in upper secondary school despite students being able to concentrate on subjects of their choice. The differences were statistically highly significant (p ≤ 0.001), with the choice of mathematics explaining 16-21 percent of the variation in students’ academic performance, varying slightly by duration of study (1st, 2nd and 3rd year students). Math choice also emerged as the clearest source for differences in students' future plans. The difference was most evident in students' intention to continue from upper secondary school to university. Students of Advanced Math presented stronger mastery orientation than students of Basic Math and they reported less burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficiency). The latter result is partially explained by gender difference in burnout but even among girls, students of Basic Math reported more burnout than students of Advanced Math. The higher education student selection reform seems to have increased students’ readiness to include a math exam in their matriculation examination, with the growth centering on the exam of Advanced Math for boys and on Basic and Advanced math for girls. Despite the increase, students who sat for the Advanced Math exam outperformed other students in all exams, girls among them outperforming boys in all but Math, English, Physics and Chemistry.

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