Evaluating undergraduate business students’ abilities to solve mathematical word problems involving sustainable development context

This exploratory study examined undergraduate business students’ ability to solve sustainability-based mathematical word problems and investigated the challenges they encountered. A qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design was employed. The sample consisted of 40 sophomore undergraduate business students from a private business college. Data were collected through a test comprising three mathematical word problems developed within an Education for Sustainable Development context and semi-structured interviews. Test responses were analysed descriptively using a 0–4 analytic rubric, and interview data were examined through thematic analysis. Results indicated that most students were able to interpret sustainability-related contexts, construct appropriate mathematical models, and complete proportional or multi-step calculations with reasonable accuracy. Higher mean performance was observed among finance, accounting, and supply chain management students. Interview findings revealed that students’ primary difficulties involved structural interpretation, conceptual recall, and numerical precision rather than misunderstanding sustainability concepts. Students perceived the sustainability context as relevant and motivating. The findings suggest that integrating sustainability-related contexts into mathematics courses for undergraduate business students may support modelling competence and engagement, underscoring the pedagogical value of contextualized mathematics instruction in higher education.