Abstract
‘Mastery’ is central to current policy in mathematics education in England, influenced by East Asian success in transnational assessments. We scrutinise the prospects for mastery pedagogies to improve pupil attainment in English primary schools. The Mathematics Teacher Exchange (MTE)—an element of the mastery innovation—involves teachers visiting Shanghai and then hosting Shanghai teachers in their schools. Informed by programme evaluation, core component practices are analysed, which were implemented by schools belonging to the first cohort of MTE schools. These consist of: varied and interactive teaching; meaningful and coherent mathematical activity; and full curriculum access for all. These elements are supported, optimally, by collaborative, embedded, and mathematically focused professional development. Details of the implemented pedagogy and forms of professional development are reported. Differences from prevailing practice in primary mathematics in England are highlighted. Evidence is reviewed from quasi-experimental trials, reviews and meta-analyses, and rigorous observational studies of the efficacy of practices similar to the MTE mastery pedagogy components in order to assess the prospects for increases in pupil attainment. The analysis suggests that many of the specific practices, if considered individually, have the potential to improve attainment, though overall policy ambitions may not be realised. Based on the review, component practices are identified for which existing evidence justifies immediate implementation by schools and teachers. In addition, practices that would benefit from further testing and evaluation are highlighted.
Highlights
The mastery innovation is the principal government policy currently guiding mathematics education reform and improvement in England; it combines a number of textbook resource and professional learning programmes that are intended to support the development of mathematics mastery teaching in English schools
Whilst the analysis presented has focused on Mathematics Teacher Exchange (MTE) cohort 1 mastery pedagogy, these components or practices are recognisable within other mastery pedagogy formulations
We have presented a conceptual framework for a mastery based on a systematic study of schools involved in the Mathematics Teacher Exchange, which are influenced by the other various initiatives and perspectives
Summary
‘Mastery’ became central to current policy in mathematics education in England in 2015. There are two parts to this process: firstly, to identify the extent to which the practices that schools that participated in MTE cohort 1 are implementing under the banner of mastery are different to previously prevailing methods in England; and, secondly, to consider what the evidence base is that these practices, if adopted, might lead to improved pupil outcomes. To address this aim and the two subsidiary objectives, we draw on another strand in that we make a critique from within the evidence-based or ‘what works’ paradigm, though we do this with caution given concerns about unintended consequences of such a stance [16,17]. Practices that would benefit from further testing and evaluation are highlighted
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