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Outputs (36)

Predicting outcomes in sport and exercise science degrees: the effect of qualification pathways (2023)
Journal Article
Hastings, J., & Noyes, A. (2023). Predicting outcomes in sport and exercise science degrees: the effect of qualification pathways. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 47(10), 1337-1350. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2244434

In the UK, most prospective university students study ‘traditional’ academic qualifications such as A-Levels. However, increasing numbers of students are entering UK higher education with 'non-traditional' or vocational qualifications. This has provo... Read More about Predicting outcomes in sport and exercise science degrees: the effect of qualification pathways.

Technicians as teachers: the emerging role of technical staff within higher education teaching and learning environments (2023)
Journal Article
Wragg, F. P., Harris, C., Noyes, A., & Vere, K. (in press). Technicians as teachers: the emerging role of technical staff within higher education teaching and learning environments. Journal of Further and Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2231380

Technicians and technical staff are making increasingly significant contributions to the teaching and learning of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UK. This paper reports on a survey of 1766 technical staff regarding their roles within t... Read More about Technicians as teachers: the emerging role of technical staff within higher education teaching and learning environments.

Local learning landscapes: exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England (2023)
Report
Greany, T., Noyes, A., Gripton, C., Cowhitt, T., & Hudson, G. (2023). Local learning landscapes: exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England. Wellcome

Ensuring that all teachers engage in high-quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) has long been a policy priority in school systems worldwide, given evidence that this can lead to improvements in teaching quality and, thereby,... Read More about Local learning landscapes: exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England.

Mapping mathematical competences across subjects for advanced level qualifications in England (2023)
Journal Article
Norris, J., & Noyes, A. (2023). Mapping mathematical competences across subjects for advanced level qualifications in England. Curriculum Journal, 34(4), 613-632. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.204

Efforts to increase the number of young people in England studying mathematics post‐16 have historically focused on participation in standalone mathematics qualifications. However, following the recent A‐level reforms, many advanced level students ar... Read More about Mapping mathematical competences across subjects for advanced level qualifications in England.

Developing the mathematics teacher workforce in England’s FE colleges: towards a ‘communities of practice’ strategy (2022)
Journal Article
Dalby, D., & Noyes, A. (2022). Developing the mathematics teacher workforce in England’s FE colleges: towards a ‘communities of practice’ strategy. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 27(3), 413-435. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2022.2076055

Since policy changes in 2014 about who studies mathematics post-16 in England, the mathematics teaching workforce in further education (FE) colleges has grown and diversified. The question of how best to develop the professional practice of this chan... Read More about Developing the mathematics teacher workforce in England’s FE colleges: towards a ‘communities of practice’ strategy.

Mathematics in England’s further education colleges: who is teaching what, and why it matters (2022)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., Dalby, D., & Lavis, Y. (2022). Mathematics in England’s further education colleges: who is teaching what, and why it matters. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(10), 1347-1361. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2022.2075720

Improving mathematical skills is a priority in England, and a series of policy levers and government change projects have focused on improving mathematical outcomes in further education (FE) in recent years. Yet little is known about the mathematics... Read More about Mathematics in England’s further education colleges: who is teaching what, and why it matters.

Mathematics curriculum waves within vocational education (2021)
Journal Article
Dalby, D., & Noyes, A. (2022). Mathematics curriculum waves within vocational education. Oxford Review of Education, 48(2), 166-183. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2021.1940913

Links between mathematical attainment and economic performance, coupled with England’s poor showing in international comparisons of skills, have focused attention on post-16 mathematics education, for example in the UK Government’s 2017 Industrial St... Read More about Mathematics curriculum waves within vocational education.

The waxing and waning of functional skills mathematics (2020)
Journal Article
Dalby, D., & Noyes, A. (2022). The waxing and waning of functional skills mathematics. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 74(3), 434-453. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2020.1772856

There have been repeated attempts to establish mathematics qualifications for lower attaining students aged 16 years and over on vocational pathways in England. In 2004, the Tomlinson Report proposed Functional Mathematics and this paper examines the... Read More about The waxing and waning of functional skills mathematics.

Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges (2018)
Journal Article
Dalby, D., & Noyes, A. (2018). Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 70(4), 564-580. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2018.1462245

England’s Further Education (FE) sector is in permanent flux with policy interpretations and translations taking place at multiple levels within increasingly large and complex multi-site organizations. Devolved responsibility gives managers considera... Read More about Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges.

Mathematics in the disciplines at the transition to university (2018)
Journal Article
McAlinden, M., & Noyes, A. (in press). Mathematics in the disciplines at the transition to university. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, https://doi.org/10.1093/teamat/hry004

Mathematics education is highly valued in advanced economies due to its role in developing skilled workforces, economic resilience and social wellbeing. However, university academics across disciplines regularly bemoan undergraduate students’ under-... Read More about Mathematics in the disciplines at the transition to university.

Assessing mathematics within advanced school science qualifications (2017)
Journal Article
McAlinden, M., & Noyes, A. (2019). Assessing mathematics within advanced school science qualifications. Assessment in Education, 26(3), 340-355. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2017.1321524

Following sustained discussion regarding the relationship between advanced mathematics and science learning in England, the Government has pursued a reform agenda in which mathematics is embedded in national, high stakes A-level science qualification... Read More about Assessing mathematics within advanced school science qualifications.

Do advanced mathematics skills predict success in biology and chemistry degrees? (2017)
Journal Article
Adkins, M., & Noyes, A. (2018). Do advanced mathematics skills predict success in biology and chemistry degrees?. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 16(3), 487-502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-016-9794-y

The mathematical preparedness of science undergraduates has been a subject of debate for some time. This paper investigates the relationship between school mathematics attainment and degree outcomes in biology and chemistry across England, a much lar... Read More about Do advanced mathematics skills predict success in biology and chemistry degrees?.

Studying advanced mathematics in England: findings from a survey of student choices and attitudes (2016)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., & Adkins, M. (in press). Studying advanced mathematics in England: findings from a survey of student choices and attitudes. Research in Mathematics Education, 18(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2016.1188139

The UK Government has set a goal that the ‘vast majority’ of students in England will be studying mathematics to 18 by the end of the decade. The policy levers for achieving this goal include new Core Maths qualifications, designed for over 200,000... Read More about Studying advanced mathematics in England: findings from a survey of student choices and attitudes.

The impact of research on policy: a case of qualifications reform (2016)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., & Adkins, M. The impact of research on policy: a case of qualifications reform. British Journal of Educational Studies, 64(4), https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2016.1159654

The relationship between research and policymaking has been discussed repeatedly. However, the debate tends to be in general, abstract terms or from a macro-economic perspective with any examples described in a fairly cursory way. Despite the inhere... Read More about The impact of research on policy: a case of qualifications reform.

Reassessing the economic value of advanced level mathematics (2016)
Journal Article
Adkins, M., & Noyes, A. (2016). Reassessing the economic value of advanced level mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 42(1), 93-116. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3219

In the late 1990s, the economic return to Advanced level (A-level) mathematics was examined. The analysis was based upon a series of log-linear models of earnings in the 1958 National Child Development Survey (NCDS) and the National Survey of 1980 Gr... Read More about Reassessing the economic value of advanced level mathematics.

Reconsidering the rise in A-Level Mathematics participation (2016)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., & Adkins, M. (2016). Reconsidering the rise in A-Level Mathematics participation. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 35(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1093/teamat/hrv016

There is growing support for making the study of mathematics to age 18 compulsory for all young people in England. This paper aims to inform this debate through new insights into historic A-level Mathematics participation trends. We analyse full-ye... Read More about Reconsidering the rise in A-Level Mathematics participation.

Locating mathematics within post-16 vocational education in England (2015)
Journal Article
Dalby, D., & Noyes, A. (2015). Locating mathematics within post-16 vocational education in England. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2015.1110828

The political importance of mathematics in post-16 education is clear. Far less clear is how mathematics does and should relate to vocational education. Successive mathematics curricula (e.g. core skills, key skills) have been developed in England wi... Read More about Locating mathematics within post-16 vocational education in England.

To grade or not to grade: balancing formative and summative assessment in post-16 teacher trainee observations (2014)
Journal Article
Matthews, R., & Noyes, A. (2016). To grade or not to grade: balancing formative and summative assessment in post-16 teacher trainee observations. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(2), 247-261. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2014.953456

The issue of whether trainee teachers in the post-16 sector should have their classroom practice graded has been debated for a number of years. The case for training courses retaining an emphasis on written and verbal ‘developmental’ feedback at the... Read More about To grade or not to grade: balancing formative and summative assessment in post-16 teacher trainee observations.

Scale in education research: towards a multi-scale methodology (2013)
Journal Article
Noyes, A. (2013). Scale in education research: towards a multi-scale methodology. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 36(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2012.683648

This article explores some theoretical and methodological problems concerned with scale in education research through a critique of a recent mixed-method project. The project was framed by scale metaphors drawn from the physical and earth sciences a... Read More about Scale in education research: towards a multi-scale methodology.

It matters which class you are in: student-centred teaching and the enjoyment of learning mathematics (2012)
Journal Article
Noyes, A. (2012). It matters which class you are in: student-centred teaching and the enjoyment of learning mathematics. Research in Mathematics Education, 14(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2012.734974

The 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey highlighted how attitudes to mathematics had declined sharply for students in many of the high attaining countries in the survey, England being no exception. There is a notable drop in... Read More about It matters which class you are in: student-centred teaching and the enjoyment of learning mathematics.

Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? (2012)
Journal Article
Drake, P., Wake, G., & Noyes, A. (2012). Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it?. Research in Mathematics Education, 14(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2012.734969

This article analyses aspects of the process of developing ‘functional’ assessments of mathematics at the end of compulsory schooling in England. A protocol that was developed for scrutinising assessment items is presented. This protocol includes a... Read More about Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it?.

Managing learning trajectories: the case of 14-19 mathematics (2011)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., & Sealey, P. (2011). Managing learning trajectories: the case of 14-19 mathematics. Educational Review, 63(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2010.534768

In this paper we explore how mathematics department leaders manage curriculum (what is taught), teaching (how it is taught) and learner progression (what results) for 14-19 year olds. The background to the study is a range of national, and internati... Read More about Managing learning trajectories: the case of 14-19 mathematics.

Widening and increasing post-16 mathematics participation: pathways, pedagogies and politics (2011)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., Wake, G., & Drake, P. (2011). Widening and increasing post-16 mathematics participation: pathways, pedagogies and politics. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(2), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-011-9281-4

This paper explores the potential impact of a national pilot initiative in England aimed at increasing and widening participation in advanced mathematical study through the creation of a new qualification for 16 to 18 year-olds. This proposed qualif... Read More about Widening and increasing post-16 mathematics participation: pathways, pedagogies and politics.

On the relevance of the mathematics curriculum to young people (2010)
Journal Article
Sealey, P., & Noyes, A. (2010). On the relevance of the mathematics curriculum to young people. Curriculum Journal, 21(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2010.504573

In this paper we draw upon focus group data from a large study of learner trajectories through 14-19 mathematics education to think about the notion of relevance in the mathematics curriculum. Drawing on data from three socially distanced sites we e... Read More about On the relevance of the mathematics curriculum to young people.

Conditions for linking school mathematics and moral education: a case study (2010)
Journal Article
Falkenberg, T., & Noyes, A. (2010). Conditions for linking school mathematics and moral education: a case study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.10.036

In recent years the mathematics education research community has undergone a social turn towards a greater interest in the values and broader educational purposes of mathematics education, including issues of social justice and citizenship education.... Read More about Conditions for linking school mathematics and moral education: a case study.

Investigating participation in Advanced level mathematics: a study of student drop out (2009)
Journal Article
Noyes, A., & Sealey, P. (2009). Investigating participation in Advanced level mathematics: a study of student drop out. Research Papers in Education, 27(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/02671520903288885

There has for some years been a growing concern about participation in university-entrance level mathematics in England and across the developed world. Extensive statistical analyses present the decline but offer little to help us understand the cau... Read More about Investigating participation in Advanced level mathematics: a study of student drop out.

Exploring social patterns of participation in university-entrance level mathematics in England (2009)
Journal Article
Noyes, A. (2009). Exploring social patterns of participation in university-entrance level mathematics in England. Research in Mathematics Education, 11(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/14794800903063356

In recent years in England there has been considerable attention given to a range of apparent crises in mathematics education, one of which has been the long term decline of participation in university-entrance level (Advanced or A) mathematics. Giv... Read More about Exploring social patterns of participation in university-entrance level mathematics in England.

School self-evaluation and its impact on teachers’ work in England (2009)
Journal Article
Hall, C., & Noyes, A. (2009). School self-evaluation and its impact on teachers’ work in England. Research Papers in Education, 24(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/02671520802149873

This study, based on in-depth interview data from a sample of schools in the midlands of England, offers an analysis of UK teachers’ perceptions and understandings of school self evaluation at a point when national accountability procedures have requ... Read More about School self-evaluation and its impact on teachers’ work in England.

The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?
Journal Article
Noyes, A. The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 24(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2012.689145

Given the commonly accepted view that having a mathematically well-educated populace is strategically important, there is considerable international interest in raising attainment, and increasing participation, in post-compulsory mathematics educatio... Read More about The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?.

Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics
Journal Article
Noyes, A., Wake, G., & Drake, P. Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics. Curriculum Journal, 24(4), https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2013.812973

Mathematics education is rarely out of the policy spotlight in England. Over the last ten years, considerable attention has been given to improving 14-19 mathematics curriculum pathways. In this paper we consider some of the challenges of enacting cu... Read More about Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics.