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A case study in primary mathematics education

Our teacher education programmes at the University of Dundee draw students from all over Scotland. It can be assumed that the data collected for our study would be little different to that at other teacher education institutions if the scope of the study was widened. It is also the case that our programmes are highly over-subscribed and we are in the happy position of being able to choose high calibre applicants. 

When prospective students apply for entrance to one of our teacher education programmes we use the existing selection criteria in terms of: National Qualifications at SCQF Level 6 (for example, Higher Grade), in at least three subjects (one of these course awards must be in English); and National Qualifications Course awards at SCQF Level 5 (or an accepted alternative, for example, Standard Grade Credit or Intermediate 2) in two other subjects (one of the awards must be in mathematics). Hence all entrants have at least Standard Grade Credit or Intermediate 2 in mathematics. Our interest lay in the effectiveness of this mathematics entry criterion as a predictor of confidence and capacity in primary level mathematics for student teachers on entrance to initial teacher education. We also hoped to use our findings to inform the development of our programmes, to ensure that our teacher professional development, based on a constructivist view of learning, started from the reality of our student teachers' experiences prior to them starting teacher education. 

Our concerns about the recent coverage of our research stemmed from the fact that the focus appeared to present one finding regarding entrants to the programme and then report it out of context. We were disappointed to see in the recent coverage of our research that the main thrust of the work, which was to question current mathematics entrance requirements for primary education degrees, i.e., Standard Grade Credit or Intermediate 2, was largely ignored. Our study also found that those students holding Higher mathematics were no better prepared in primary level mathematics than their counterparts with the lower Standard Grade Credit/Intermediate 2 qualifications; this too was not reported. For us, these findings raise questions about the nature of mathematics being taught and learned through these qualifications and how well these qualifications prepare entrants for the primary mathematics components of teacher education programmes.

In England, an online maths assessment must be passed by newly qualified teachers upon completing their initial teacher education programmes. For the Scottish context we would argue, based on our research regarding entry, that student primary teachers' mathematics competences needs to be addressed as part of initial teacher education programmes and that, in addition, attention must be paid to the affective component of learning mathematics. By improving levels of confidence to teach the subject the students in our study were motivated to address their own competences and as a result developed much more positive mindsets towards mathematics. This upward spiral of confidence and competence is surely what we need to strive to achieve.

An online maths assessment is now available to students throughout their courses at Dundee to enhance their mathematics knowledge and skills, and our research would suggest that this is proving to be very successful. For example, in the academic year 2009-10, ALL student primary teachers on primary teacher education programmes at Dundee reached, and in many cases improved upon, the 80% assessment threshold. What is more, a subsequent study (not yet published) has indicated that students engaging with this online assessment report improved levels of confidence in mathematics. To our knowledge the University of Dundee is the only teacher education institution in Scotland where such a tool exists, its primary aim being to ensure that our graduating students are well prepared to meet the challenges of teaching this important curricular area.

About the authors

Sheila Henderson is a senior lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Dundee.

Susan Rodrigues is a professor of science education at the University of Dundee.