Teachers’ self-perceptions of mathematical knowledge for teaching at the transition between primary and post-primary school

Abstract

The school system in both the Republic of Ireland [ROI] and Northern Ireland [NI] is configured to accommodate children into discrete educational bands at different stages on their learning journey. Research has consistently shown that the transition from primary to post-primary, which typically occurs between the ages of 11 and 13, is the most challenging transition with the negative effects more pronounced for mathematics than any other subject. This cross-border study investigates this transition in mathematics education from the final year of primary school to first year of post-primary school from the perspective of teachers involved with these year groups. It examines teachers’ knowledge of the mathematics curriculum and teaching strategies employed in the other phase. The majority of primary teachers reported being unfamiliar with the curriculum and teaching approaches employed in the first year of post-primary and the differences between the two jurisdictions were not significant. However, a difference was noted in the responses of second level teachers. Teachers in NI appeared more confident in their knowledge of the curriculum and teaching approaches adopted in the final year of primary school than their ROI colleagues. In this paper, the authors will elaborate on these findings; outline possible reasons for the differences across jurisdictions and share what impact teacher knowledge is having on classroom practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Mathematics education
• primary
• post-primary
• transition
• teacher knowledge
• horizon knowledge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Niamh O’Meara http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6959-2783

Mark Prendergast http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-7421

Ian Cantley http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8995-6281

Notes

1 The strata used in this selection process related to school type in both jurisdictions. There are four different types of post-primary school in ROI and two different types in NI. Hence, the strata used in ROI were secondary schools, comprehensive schools, community colleges and vocational schools while in NI the strata were grammar schools and non-grammar schools

2 In 2014 the Irish Government launched an Education Passport initiative to improve communication between 6th class and 1st year teachers. The overall purpose of the initiative is to help the child experience continuity as they move from primary to secondary education. Primary schools are required to pass documentation onto secondary schools which detail the child’s progress and achievement, as well as signalling what support they may need.

3 When conducting the Chi Square test the authors noted that the expected cell count was sufficiently high for more than 80% of cells.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by SCOTENS; Irish Research Council [grant no. 13948].