Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced a proposal to ensure that all students continue to study maths to 18, a plan aiming to ‘boost low numeracy rates’, and to leave future school-leavers better equipped for ‘data-intensive jobs’ and managing their finances as adults. In this article, Professor Maria Pampaka, Professor Laura Black and Professor Julian Williams analyse the implications of this proposal, and make policy and practice recommendations linking back to maths to 18.

• Some groups experience negative socio-emotional outcomes (e.g. low mathematics dispositions, and/or high mathematics anxiety) towards mathematics. The evidence points particularly to gender, but other characteristics, like social and ethnic background, are equally important.
• Teaching practices in mathematics are largely perceived to be transmissionist (‘traditional’, teaching to the test, as contrasted to those where ‘connectionist’ – more student-centred and interactive approaches are preferred) by students and teachers. This teaching practice has been found to be negatively associated with students’ dispositions to engage with mathematics in the future.
• Teaching mathematics post 16 is particularly demanding and will require an expansion of the pool of confident, well qualified, and motivated teachers (at a time when the profession is currently losing people).
• A transformation of the curriculum, teaching methods and assessment is required: one that values engagement, enjoyment, confidence and inclusion as much as, or more than attainment. This is important for both learners and teachers.

Transmissionist teaching and negative outcomes

Transmissionist teaching in mathematics is a consequence of increased pressure on teachers, schools and students to perform in high stakes assessments – driven by desire to compete in performance tables both nationally and internationally such as PISA – the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges,

In the UK,  and in the lead up to GCSEs, where girls outperform (though slightly) boys in teacher assessments and standardised mathematics tests, our findings show that girls  are more likely to develop negative emotional relationships with mathematics or demonstrate less interest in the subject.

Gender, maths and inequality

Gender and other inequalities are reproduced at every level – individual, family, community, classroom and school, regionally and nationally. These inequalities shape children’s’ attitudes towards mathematics and their aspirations for future participation. There is a wealth of literature on gender and access to and participation in mathematics. This reveals that differences in students’ attitudes and aspirations are about gender identity. For example, some cultural forms of gender identity (masculinity/femininity) can be either valued and legitimised or undermined in mathematics (both in classrooms and in popular culture). For example, we see this in popular culture where toys, films, books construct mathematicians as white, male, heterosexual ‘geeks’.

There is now widespread recognition (including in schools) that gender can no longer be defined or understood as a binary male/female. We know that emotions and stereotypes related to mathematics emerge very early in the child’s life and school career, therefore it is crucial to observe children’s developing relationships with mathematics early enough to understand and potentially side-track trajectories of disengagement from learning.

We argue that research and policy now needs to explore how socio-emotional outcomes are associated with diverse gender identities, particularly with the intersections with other cultural constructs, (e.g. ethnicity, socioeconomic status etc), that we also know shape perceptions of mathematics. Our current gender and STEM education project seeks to develop better ways to conceptualise and operationalise gender for this purpose.

Policy pathways

Equitable policy and practice, which does not solely focus on standards and attainment but promotes positive attitudes for all groups – whether gendered, ethnic, or other, can improve engagement of all learners and teachers in mathematics.

A transformation of the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment is required: one that values engagement, enjoyment, confidence and inclusion as much as or more than attainment. We say ‘more than’ because we know that engagement is the only sure means to raise attainment, and attitudes link closely with disengagement and drop out.

Education policymakers should seek to build home-school interventions that both connect school maths to the everyday lives of families – and address parents’ negative beliefs/identities around maths. Funding should be made available for knowledge transfer work and further research focusing specifically on early years.

The culture of performativity, associated pressures and transmissionist pedagogies with an emphasis on attainment to the detriment of enjoyment disadvantages and causes negative emotions for many. Policymakers examining and establishing the maths to 18 plans, such as the Department for Education and the new advisory group who will collaborate on the maths to 18 plans should focus on affective outcomes. They should be taking socio-emotional outcomes as seriously as attainment with a renewed emphasis on social inclusivity, formative assessment and connectionist learning/teaching for understanding.

Maths teachers – too many problems

Teachers – like nurses and other public service staff – are abandoning their profession for a variety of reasons, but are citing that this is not just about pay, but also conditions in the workplace and the kind of pressures that Ofsted impose. These are best exemplified in our work by teachers who say “I don’t want to teach like this but…” and reference exams, tests and performance.

The problem with teaching to students up to age 18 who wanted to drop maths is obvious: teachers who can make a good job of this will be in short supply: like hen’s teeth. The profession will need an expanded workforce of confident, well-motivated and well-qualified teachers to meet this demand.

We conclude that decades of education policy focussed on raising attainment has been most successful in discouraging engagement with mathematics learning and teaching. Increasing mathematics education for all, especially to age 18, will require policymakers to pay renewed attention to emotional aspects, i.e. the joys of mathematics.