Outputs (37)

The mathematics pipeline in England: inclusion and the excellence stream (2024)
Journal Article

In England, there is currently heightened political interest in increasing mathematics attainment and maximizing post-16 participation. The latter is not merely an issue for upper secondary but requires a long-view of students’ mathematical progress.... Read More about The mathematics pipeline in England: inclusion and the excellence stream.

Local learning landscapes: conceptualising place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems (2024)
Journal Article

This article sets out an original conceptual framework for place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems. High quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CDPL) by teachers is associated wi... Read More about Local learning landscapes: conceptualising place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems.

Predicting outcomes in sport and exercise science degrees: the effect of qualification pathways (2023)
Journal Article

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.

Local learning landscapes: exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England (2023)
Report

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.

The mathematics pipeline in England: Patterns, interventions and excellence (2023)
Report

Mapping mathematical competences across subjects for advanced level qualifications in England (2023)
Journal Article

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

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

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

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

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.

Teacher training bursaries in England: an analysis of their impact on the quantity and quality of trainees (2019)
Report

A survey of teachers of mathematics in England’s further education colleges: executive summary: the Mathematics in Further Education Colleges Project (2018)
Report

A survey of teachers of mathematics in England’s further education colleges: the Mathematics in Further Education Colleges Project: interim report (2018)
Report

Mathematics education policy enactment in England’s Further Education Colleges (2018)
Journal Article

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Bringing Bourdieu to mathematics education: a response to Williams and Choudry (2016)
Journal Article

Reassessing the economic value of advanced level mathematics (2016)
Journal Article

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

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

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.

Connecting mathematics teaching with vocational learning (2015)
Journal Article

For many vocational students in England, mathematics is now a compulsory part of their programme, yet the inclusion of an academic subject within a vocational course presents challenges. In this paper, an analysis of a series of case studies of vocat... Read More about Connecting mathematics teaching with vocational learning.

To grade or not to grade: balancing formative and summative assessment in post-16 teacher trainee observations (2014)
Journal Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics
Journal Article

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.

The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?
Journal Article

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?.