Making decisions about attainment grouping in mathematics: teacher agency and autonomy in Norway

ABSTRACT

Grouping by attainment is a relatively new and contested practice in Norway, where strong historical discourses of heterogeneous education are under pressure from international test comparisons, particularly in mathematics. At the same time, research indicates that Norwegian teachers have a high degree of autonomy in education policy enactment. Analysing thirteen Norwegian mathematics teachers’ reflections on grouping practices, we seek to understand their decision-making processes within this context. Our findings indicate that teachers report a high degree of autonomy in grouping practices which is exercised through considerable diversity in practice and defended when necessary. Using an ecological model of teacher agency reveals how teachers explore and explain their highly situated practice and its tensions and contradictions. We find that teachers who are removed from the central locus of autonomy have less to draw on in making and justifying their pedagogic choices, while those who are more central are able to continually reassess in this highly sensitive arena. We note the implications for practice and research on attainment grouping, particularly the need for teacher autonomy and support for professionally-based local decision-making.

KEYWORDS:

• Attainment grouping
• mixed-attainment teaching
• mathematics
• teacher autonomy
• teacher agency

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the help of Ida Heiberg Solem, Aleksandra Hara Fadum, Ellen Hovik, Grethe Kjensli, Siri Krogh Nordby, Camilla Rodal, Lars Reinholdtsen, and Trude Sundtjønn in gathering data on which this paper is based.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

The project has gained ethics approval from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) with notification form 980469 and participants gave active and informed consent. The project owner is OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway under Grant 287132; Norges Forskningsråd.

Notes on contributors

Elisabeta Eriksen

Elisabeta Eriksen is an associate professor in mathematics education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University. Her current research interests focus on mathematics teachers’ decision-making for responsive teaching, the role of educational research in supporting teachers’ daily work and conceptualising the profession of mathematics teacher educators.

Yvette Solomon

Yvette Solomon is professor of education at Manchester Metropolitan University and professor of mathematics education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on student engagement with mathematics through the lens of curriculum policy and design, classroom interaction, and teacher/student identities and relationships. She employs both micro-analysis and large-scale intervention in her research.

Annette Hessen Bjerke

Annette Hessen Bjerke is an associate professor in mathematics education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University. Her research focuses mainly on the development of self-efficacy in teaching mathematics, on issues related to the theory-practice divide in teacher education, and on the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools. She employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

James Gray

James Gray is an associate professor in mathematics education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University. His research employs classroom observations and focuses on teacher-student communication in mathematics and inclusive mathematics teaching.

Bodil Kleve

Bodil Kleve is Professor Emerita in mathematics education at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University. Her research focuses mainly on three aspects within classroom research: Teachers and Curriculum Reforms, Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and Literacy and Cross-curricularity.