Bindu Roy
DAV Centenary College, Faridabad
Kiran Kalia
Manav Rachna University, Faridabad
Suman Garg
J.C.Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA, Faridabad
Pages: 265-276
Mathematics dropout in higher education is a well-studied phenomenon; it has rarely
been analysed through the lens of the psychological processes involved This article
presents a theory-building narrative review design that integrates Social Cognitive Theory,
the Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions, and the Expectancy-Value Theory
into a Cognitive Affective Persistence Model of mathematics persistence and dropout.
The model proposes that students’ appraisals of their mathematical competence generate
achievement emotions, which shape motivational and behavioural engagement, which
in turn determines persistence, avoidance, or withdrawal, with dropout together
outcomes feeding back into subsequent appraisals. Rather than reporting new empirical
findings, the review synthesises literature retrieved principally through Google Scholar,
prioritising open access, highly cited, and topically relevant studies published between
2020-2026, based on three questions: i) How do cognitive appraisals, achievement
emotions, and motivational processes interact to explain mathematics dropout in higher
education? ii) What do Social Cognitive Theory, Control-Value Theory, and Expectancy
Value Theory each contribute to explaining this process, and how can they be
theoretically integrated? iii) What are the broader implications of mathematics education
for higher education, sustainable development, and the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals? and derive four testable propositions for future empirical validation.
The applied implications are provided for school and college psychologists, counsellors,
mathematics educators, and academic advisors at each stage of the suggested pathway,
with implications for sustainable mathematics education. The model also identifies
opportunities for early educational intervention and highlights the broader relevance of
sustained mathematics participation to higher education