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This paper explores how the twin processes of neoliberalism and neoconservatism work together on, and through, curricula and their associated pedagogies. It bridges the gap between policy and classroom practice, focusing on the particular example of the school subject of mathematics and the notion of mastery, operationalised in the English education system as Teaching for Mastery (TfM). From this context, it develops a theoretical argument using Dean's analytics of government as part of a broader Foucauldian frame, to analyse how TfM is constructed as a particular policy truth. It then shifts the analysis from a wide, social one to the individual classroom level using a psychological argument to critique TfM in its own terms, examining the onto‐epistemological nature of mathematics as a subject. In doing so, it explores ways in which mastery might be problematic in classrooms, even whilst appearing to offer a solution at policy level to long‐standing problems in English schooling. The aim is not to suggest that TfM has nothing to offer, but to point to ways in which it draws on the psychology of teaching and learning in a very particular manner, inscribing pupils with very specific mathematical subjectivities. By providing this insight into how neoliberal policy positions play out at practitioner level via curricula and pedagogies, the paper raises questions which are philosophical, political, and ethical, regarding the potential effect of TfM on teachers' and pupils' experiences of mathematics in schools, including implications for equity of this experience amongst the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of low attainment in mathematics has been an increasingly prominent feature of the policy discourse in England over the last 60 years; however, evidence from comparative studies indicates that little progress has been made in finding a solution. In this paper, we analyse the changing policy discourse of low attainment in mathematics through the main reports and speeches published in England, beginning with the Newsom Report, Half Our Future, in 1963, and continuing to the present day. We chart the evolving perspectives on the nature of ability, expectations, curriculum ideology and frame of reference through the changing language used in these documents, noting tensions and inconsistencies which arise through continuing lack of clarity about definitions and assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a research project undertaken with a group (n = 19) of Irish preservice student teachers (PSTs) during the third year of a five‐year undergraduate education course. A series of workshops were carried out on the classification and design of mathematics tasks. The research is presented as a case study using mixed methods to gather data at three points, before the workshops, after the workshops, and two years later, when PSTs were in their final year. We argue that task classification and design are curriculum‐making activities for mathematics teachers. Through critically classifying and designing mathematics tasks, PSTs developed skills of evaluating the cognitive demand of tasks and showed evidence of using these skills in curriculum making. Through using frameworks to classify tasks, the PSTs demonstrated a capacity to take a more critical role in curriculum making. Our data show that the development of skills in these areas has lasting effects on PSTs' practices and willingness to engage meaningfully with the curriculum in mathematics. The research highlights the need for PSTs to work on evaluating and designing tasks. How frameworks can support and enhance PSTs' capacity to make curricular decisions is evidenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports research on the initial teacher training and continuing professional development of teachers in six African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda). The focus of the research was on the teaching of early reading and mathematics. The curriculum of both these areas was analysed in terms of (i) implementation by providers such as Colleges of Education, and (ii) impact in schools. The study found that there were many and deep gaps in the curriculum taught and consequently in teacher knowledge and skills in these two crucial subject areas. The paper sets out a series of recommendations for addressing this problem including an overall alternative approach to teacher education that emerges from the research findings as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A common claim about mathematics education is that it should equip students to use mathematics in the ‘real world’. In this paper, we examine how relationships between mathematics education and the real world are materialised in the curriculum across a sample of eleven jurisdictions. In particular, we address the orientation of the curriculum towards application of mathematics, the ways that real-world contexts are positioned within the curriculum content, the ways in which different groups of students are expected to engage with real-world contexts, and the extent to which high-stakes assessments include real-world problem solving. The analysis reveals variation across jurisdictions and some lack of coherence between official orientations towards use of mathematics in the real world and the ways that this is materialised in the organisation of the content for students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fidelity of curriculum implementation (FOI) is an important area of research because of the critical role it plays in understanding how and why curriculum materials work and how they can be improved. This analysis explores written features within the Math Trailblazers curriculum that may influence the ways teachers implement mathematics curriculum materials. In particular, we examine FOI data from prior research in order to identify features within the materials themselves that may influence why teachers adhere to the intended curriculum to varying degrees. This paper reports on our analysis of examining five whole number lessons previously analysed for level of FOI alongside an analysis scale of written curriculum features. Our purpose in this analysis is to examine features of the written curriculum that potentially mediate teachers’ implementation of the materials in line with the intended curriculum. In doing so, our analysis further emphasises the critical role teachers play in curriculum implementation, and thus may provide some insight for curriculum developers as they consider ways in which to design the written curriculum that increase the likelihood that teachers will adhere to the intended curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mathematics education is rarely out of the policy spotlight in England. Over the last 10 years, considerable attention has been given to improving 14–19 mathematics curriculum pathways. In this paper we consider some of the challenges of enacting curriculum change by drawing upon evidence from our evaluation of the Mathematics Pathways Project (MPP). From 2004 to 2010 this project, which was directed by England's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, aimed to improve the engagement, attainment and participation rates of 14- to 19-year-old learners of mathematics. Our particular focus is upon the temporal problems of piloting new curriculum and assessment and we draw on Lemke's discussion of timescales, heterochrony and the adiabatic principle to consider the interlocking and interference of various change processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]