How do pre-service teachers experience becoming a primary teacher of mathematics in the context of a mastery agenda?

Parker, Gillian G. (2024). How do pre-service teachers experience becoming a primary teacher of mathematics in the context of a mastery agenda? PhD thesis The Open University.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.00100894

Abstract

This thesis examines the experiences of six pre-service teachers, learning to teach primary mathematics in the North East of England at a time of education reform, aimed at improving mathematics education. Frequently described as ‘the mastery agenda’, these reforms seek to change mathematics teaching practices in ways that replicate those observed in East Asian jurisdictions.
The study takes a situated view of learning to teach primary mathematics. Pre-service teachers must negotiate often conflicting demands of themselves and those involved in their professional development. Add to this the complexity of implementing ‘the mastery agenda’, and the threads become further tangled. Pre-service primary teachers are compelled to navigate the world of reform that requires them to make sense of promoted values and practices whilst engaging in communities of practice within a school context, in which senior leaders and teachers have or are in the process of navigating and interpreting government-promoted values and practices.
Driven by England’s performance in mathematics in international league tables, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), government-promoted mathematics teaching practices in England, found in higher-performing jurisdictions, are now synonymous with ‘mastery’ in mathematics, although the term remains ill-defined and often misunderstood.
Through an interpretivist, multiple case study methodology applied with reflexivity, the findings of this study suggest that despite the reforms, many longstanding issues in primary mathematics education, and primary mathematics teacher education remain unaddressed. These include matters relating to the subject and pedagogical knowledge development of pre-service primary teachers and of their mentors, the prevalence of ability-thinking that hinders pupil progression, and a disjuncture between Initial Teacher Training, practice in schools and government accountability systems. It also suggests a need for a cultural shift in attitudes towards mathematics education through sustained investment if the mastery in mathematics initiative is to succeed in its goals.

Plain Language Summary

A thesis submitted for the award of PhD that examines how pre-service primary teachers navigate learning to teach mathematics in the context of mathematical reforms introduced in England in 2016.

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