Challenging assumptions about relationships between mathematics pedagogy and ICT integration: surveying teachers in English secondary schools

ABSTRACT

This study investigates associations between mathematics pedagogy and teachers’ integration of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). As an early adopter of presentation-oriented hardware and software in mathematics classrooms, England represents a critical case for investigating associations between mathematics pedagogy and teachers’ integration of ICT into classroom practice. This paper reports the results of a survey of English secondary mathematics teachers’ use of ICT (n = 183). Using Rasch analysis to construct a measure of mathematics pedagogy, a consistent trend is found between frequent use of “teacher-centred” software and a more “student-centred” orientation. The analysis also suggests that some “teacher-centred” practices involving ICT may instead be construed as “dominant” practices. Taken together with case-study evidence of teachers’ ICT integration from research on technology in education, these findings challenge assumptions about relationships between mathematics pedagogy and ICT integration prevalent in the mathematics education literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital technology
• mathematics education
• mathematics pedagogy
• technology integration

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Jeremy Hodgen for his support as my PhD supervisor and latterly as a colleague in bringing this paper to fruition and to other colleagues at UCL Institute of Education for their constructive comments during the writing process.

Disclosure statement

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