Images of Mathematics Held by Students of Diploma in Actuarial Sciences

Images of mathematics are important elements for knowing about students’ knowledge on mathematics and mathematics learning. Such knowledge is shaped by students through various activities and different experiences throughout their lives, including experiences involving mathematics education. Hence, this paper discusses the general views of images of mathematics held by students of the Diploma in Actuarial Sciences program at a public higher education institution. Almost 200 students from the first to the fifth semesters were involved in this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Many matters related to the students’ images of mathematics teachers, views of the nature of mathematics, and metaphors related to mathematics are discussed in this paper.