mathshorizons.bsky.social
The Maths Horizons Project is an independent rapid review of maths curriculum and assessment in England: mathshorizons.uk
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For more analysis, or to contribute your thoughts on why this might eb the case, please visit the Maths Horizons website: www.mathshorizons.uk/post/how-do-...
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It had been suggested to us that teachers straight out of qualifying might prefer the structure and support of a relatively rigid curriculum, then start to favour a more malleable framework as they grow in experience. But our findings didn’t support this.
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We also asked about the level of detail in the frameworks and resources. When it comes to receiving this information on what to teach, “guided flexibility” was the preferred approach by nearly half of primary and secondary teachers (49% and 48% respectively).
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Most teachers across were opposed to a granular level of central control being exercised over topics they teach. Among both phases of education, there was a pretty even split over whether it was best to specify topics to be taught on a termly, annual or key stage-level basis.
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We wanted to understand whether the maths curriculum meet the needs of higher education institutions and employers, and what the roles of these institutions are in the education process.
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For full analysis, or to contribute to our fourth investigation, please visit the Maths Horizons website.
www.mathshorizons.uk/post/maths-e...
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Once again, there was a difference in the least affluent schools, where only 29% of teachers wanted to expand the availability of Further Maths, and where more teachers were unsure what they would do if they were in charge.
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Two fifths (41%) of secondary teachers would expand its availability to make it possible for students in every school to be able to study it, while just 2% wanted to remove the course completely.
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The availability of the Further Maths A-Level emerged as a really controversial area in our early findings, with some comments suggesting that it should be scrapped if not all schools could offer it, while others suggested that we should do more to offer it universally...
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In the most affluent quartile of schools, only 22% of teachers thought that less than a tenth of their students had potential to pursue a maths-related degree. But in the least affluent quartile schools this rose to 47%.
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We found that school’s deprivation level (based on proportion of students eligible for free school meals) was a predictor of the proportion of students believed to have the potential to pursue a mathematical degree.
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We asked secondary teachers what percentage of students in their school show potential to pursue university courses in maths or related fields.
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Please contribute your views on the maths curriculum as preparation for work here: www.mathshorizons.uk/get-involved...
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We want to consider whether maths education is giving all students access to employment, whether it meets the needs of different higher education institutions and different types of employer, and what role employers play, or should play, in the education process.
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We would love to hear your views on why this is the case. To contribute your views, please visit our website here: www.mathshorizons.uk/post/teacher... (7/7)
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Taking ‘are able to reason mathematically’ again, 42% of teachers in the most affluent schools thought most students demonstrate this at the beginning of KS3, compared with 27% in the most deprived schools. (6/7)
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However, there are also interesting differences in perceptions between teachers whose schools are more or less deprived.
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Taking ‘are able to reason mathematically’, 45% of secondary maths teachers thought most students demonstrate this at the beginning of KS3, compared with 31% of primary teachers at the end of KS2. (4/7)
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As we have explored in a previous thread, there are differences in perceptions between the primary and secondary teachers we surveyed. (3/7)
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Working with @teachertapp.bsky.social, we explored how many teachers felt most (80%) of their students performed against 10 key competencies in the National Curriculum (2/7)
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To read more about this, or to express your own views on this topic, please visit www.mathshorizons.uk/post/percept... to get involved in Investigation 2 of the Maths Horizons Project. (7/7)
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Finally, when looking at students’ enjoyment of maths, primary teachers were more positive than secondary maths teachers, with 48% of primary teachers saying that they thought over 60% of their students find maths enjoyable, compared with 27% of secondary teachers. (6/7)
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For example, 52% of secondary maths teachers felt most of their students starting KS3 could ‘recognise when fractions can be simplified’, compared with 33% of primary teachers when thinking about their students finishing KS2. These teachers were commenting on the same group of students. (5/7)
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In 6 out of 10 competencies, significantly more secondary maths teachers thought that 80% of their pupils met these competencies at the beginning of KS3, compared with primary teachers at the end of KS2. (4/7)
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This is interesting when taken alongside the results of a question looking at teachers’ perceptions on how many of the 10 key competencies from the national curriculum over 80% of their students were able to meet by the end of KS2 or start of KS3. (3/7)
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86% of the primary teachers surveyed agreed with the statement ‘the primary maths curriculum has too much content’, compared with 57% of secondary maths teachers, revealing significantly different perceptions on the amount of primary content between the two groups. (2/7)
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To find out why we think this is, or to suggest your own theories, please visit www.mathshorizons.uk/post/teacher... and get involved in Investigation 1 of the Maths Horizons Project. (7/7)
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There’s a social justice aspect to this finding, too. Across all statements of intent, teachers of less affluent children and young people were less positive than teachers in more advantaged contexts (measured here by the number of pupils receiving free school meals). (6/7)
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Across all age groups, there is consistently low appreciation for the beauty and power of maths. Approximately 5% of teachers at all levels believe that 80% of the children in their maths lessons achieve this to a reasonable standard for their age. (5/7)
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When we turn to attitudes towards maths, teachers are observing much higher rates of maths enjoyment and curiosity in children at the start of their journey through school than those coming to the end of primary school, and lower again in children of secondary school age. (4/7)
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Our research, with @teachertapp.bsky.social, has found that a majority of teachers do not think that more than 80% of their pupils can mathematically reason to the level they should be able to. We do, promisingly, see upward movement in this measure of mathematical reasoning as children age. (4/7)
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The curriculum's purpose statement says that it should "provide a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.” (2/7)
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Our fourth investigation has now launched! If you have an answer to any of these questions, please contribute here: www.mathshorizons.uk/get-involved...
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Contribute to our second investigation now! www.mathshorizons.uk/get-involved...