uk empirical research jim ridgway and sean mccusker durham university [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Context in England and Wales
A National Curriculum
National tests in English, science and mathematics at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16.
Compulsory education to age 16, subject based with expectations of breadth
Post compulsory education 16-18, subject based, often highly specialised (e.g. just mathematics and physics)
Research Evidence
• Interview with a policy maker• National data on performance• Surveys of attitudes towards mathematics
and subject choice in post-compulsory education– At school– At university
Research Spine (cont.)
• Interviews with high attaining students in post-compulsory education about their choices regarding mathematics– At school– At university
• Interviews with mathematics teachers• Interviews with university mathematics lectures• Interviews with women in the early stages of
their careers, who either had or had not pursued careers in STEM
UK Policy
Top priorities for education
• Faith school; Bullying; Truancy
• The whole structure of education for students aged 14 – 19 years– school structures– the whole curriculum (initiatives on functional
skills in Maths, English and ICT; specialised diplomas 14-19…)
UK Policy
Teaching of mathematics and science, and with student attainment?
• 25% of secondary teachers in mathematics and science are not specialists
• attainment is too low
• Take up is too low – especially by some groups (e.g.Afro-Caribbean boys from poor backgrounds)
UK Policy
• Low take up of STEM by girls?
• Very, very important
• Focus of major reports and initiatives
• Clear evidence that patterns of attainment can be changed
• Expectations of girls have changed. The way that maths is taught is also changing
• Identity issues are important
• Girls have more choices, and maths can be dull
UK Policy
• Actions in the UK?• More good teachers• None traditional subject combinations – with music,
art etc.• A more exciting curriculum• More choice within mathematics• Perhaps reform university teaching• EU initiatives should set out to share effective
practices where relevant and applicable in local cultural contexts
National Data 2004
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
G/B C+ Continuing
G/B
C+
Community Foundation Other Independent Voluntary Aided Voluntary Controlled
National Data 2004A' Level Take Up Rates
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
2002 2003 2004 2002 2003 2004 2002 2003 2004
English Mathematics History
GCSE Year / Subject
Per
cen
tag
e o
f th
ose
elig
ible
, wh
o
take
up
op
po
rtu
nit
y
Boys Girls Total
National Data 2004Maths Taken Up Beyond GCSE
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
A* A B C
GCSE Grade
% O
pti
ng
to
co
nti
nu
e
Girls Boys
National Data 2006
• Paste in performance at GCSE,
• Take up of A levels
Conclusions
• Strong ‘school effects’
• Girls– Little change over 3 years – perform relatively better in other subjects– have more ‘desirable’ choices than boys– Low attaining boys are more likely to continue
with maths than are low attaining girls
Survey of Attitudes and Influences (n=730, 6 schools)
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
I enjoyed mathematics as a subject
I was good at mathematics
I was interested in mathematics
I enjoyed challenges – mathematics had lots ofinteresting questions
I am good at ICT
I thought advanced mathematics would make a lotof use of ICT
I thought I would need maths for my future career
My parents/guardians wanted me to do AS maths
My teachers wanted me to do AS maths
I thought my friends would be studying maths at ASLevel
My teachers gave me confidence to make my owndecisions about courses and career
My parents/guardian gave me confidence to makemy own decisions about courses and career
3 - Strongly Agree -3 Strongly Disagree
Male Female
`
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
I enjoyed mathematics as a subject
I was good at mathematics
I was interested in mathematics
I enjoyed challenges – mathematics had lots ofinteresting questions
I am good at ICT
I thought advanced mathematics would make a lot ofuse of ICT
I thought I would need maths for my future career
My parents/guardians wanted me to do AS maths
My teachers wanted me to do AS maths
I thought my friends would be studying maths at ASLevel
My teachers gave me confidence to make my owndecisions about courses and career
My parents/guardian gave me confidence to make myown decisions about courses and career
0 - Not Important 3 - Very Important
Male Female
2: I was good at GCSE mathematics
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%S
ton
gly
Ag
ree
Ag
ree
Dis
ag
ree
Str
on
gly
Dis
ag
ree
No
t Im
po
rta
nt
Qu
ite Im
po
rta
nt
Imp
ort
an
t
Ve
ry Im
po
rta
nt
Female
Male
1: I enjoyed mathematics as a subject at GCSE
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%S
tong
ly A
gree
Agr
ee
Dis
agre
e
Str
ongl
yD
isag
ree
Not
Impo
rtan
t
Qui
te Im
port
ant
Impo
rtan
t
Ver
y Im
port
ant
Female
Male
I wanted to do AS maths (Agreement)
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Male Female
Maths
Non_Maths
I wanted to do AS maths (Influence)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Male Female
Maths
Non_Maths4
My teachers wanted me to do AS maths (Agreement)
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Male Female
Maths
Non_Maths
My teachers wanted me to do AS maths (Influence)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Male Female
Maths
Non_Maths
Conclusions
• Students claim to be ‘empowered’ to make their own choices
• Mathematics is– Not very enjoyable (girls are more negative)– Not interesting (girls are more negative)
Interviews with 20 high attaining girls and boys about choices to take or not
take a maths course
Conclusions from Interviews
• Socio-cultural factors– Surprising absence of stereotypes
• Pedagogical factors– Descriptions of weak gender effects– Strong emphasis on the quality of teacher
explanation– Strong emphasis on student effort and
understanding
• Impact of the digital divide– ICT hardly used in mathematics; seen as
irrelevant
Conclusions from Interviews
• Decision making– Girls have more choices– Students claim to be ‘empowered’– Important factors
• Enjoyment• Past success• Identity (creativity, enjoyment)• ‘pull factors’• Subject combinations
Implications for Action
• Curriculum reform– towards more enjoyable and creative
mathematics
• Pedagogy– reward effort, engagement and understanding
• Communication– On the implications of different subject choices