The practices of middle leaders of mathematics: alignment of their goals and activities

Figures & data

Table 1. Examples of assigning points for three participant’s three goals to a main theme.

#ID		Students	Teachers	Teaching and learning	Resources	Leadership	Community involvement
35	Coaching staff to reach individual goals Developing data literacy and implementing this in planning Developing clear proficiency scales matching curriculum for all maths strands	0	0	3	0	0	0
36	Improve the NAPLAN data analysis and results All students from 7 to 10 learning at their appropriate level whether it be above or below their current year level standard Have a solid program in place at our school for peer observations, team teaching and coaching	2	0	1	0	0	0
37	Improve assessment tools Develop numeracy across non maths subjects Develop pedagogy knowledge of maths teachers	0	1	1	0	1	0

Table 2. Number of years teaching and leading mathematics.

	Teaching (n = 196)		Leading mathematics (n = 167)
	Primary n (%)	Secondary n (%)	Primary n (%)	Secondary n (%)
Less than 1 year	1 (0.7)	0 (0)	39 (30.4)	9 (23.0)
1–3 years	1 (0.7)	1 (2.2)	55 (42.9)	15 (38.4)
4–9 years	44 (29.3)	17 (37.0)	28 (21.9)	10 (25.6)
10–15 years	34 (22.7)	13 (28.3)	3 (2.3)	4 (10.3)
Longer than 15 years	70 (46.7)	15 (32.6)	3 (2.3)	1 (2.6)

Table 3. Number of hours per week allocated for the SML role (Q17).

	Primary SMLs, n (%)	Secondary SMLs, n (%)
0 h	28 (18.7)	7 (15.2)
<2 h	35 (23.3)	16 (34.8)
2.1–4 h	16 (10.7)	9 (19.6)
4.1–6 h	13 (8.7)	9 (19.6)
6.1–8 h	8 (5.3)	2 (4.3)
8.1–10 h	10 (6.7)	1 (2.2)
10.1–20 h	33 (22.0)	2 (4.3)
>20 h	8 (5.3)	0 (0.0)

Table 4. Frequency of goal statements for leaders (n = 637).

Categories	Goals n (%)	Quotes as examples
Teaching and learning
Pedagogy	103	Promote problem-solving skills and encourage reasoning
Assessment data	91	To embed formative assessment practices
Collaboration	41	Co-teaching and planning, opportunities, and ongoing reflections
Lesson/task types	33	Facilitate engaging lessons with real-life connections
Planning	22	Overhaul maths planning
Total	290 (45%)
Students
Learning outcomes	62	For all students to experience significant growth
Dispositions/agency	47	Increase student agency. To build students engagement with learning mathematics
Extension/interv’n	15	Improve intervention and extension.
Total	124 (20%)
Leadership
Whole school approach	101	To work towards having a consistency of approach in the teaching of mathematics
Leaders’ capacity to lead	10	Develop my own capacity to lead effective change school wide
Total	111 (17%)
Teachers
Knowledge mathematics	53	Build capacity and knowledge in all areas of mathematics
Knowledge curriculum	17	Improve knowledge of the learning continua
Disposition/mindset	13	Staff to feel confident and passionate about teaching maths
Beliefs/capabilities	5	Develop self-belief about teaching maths
Total	88 (14%)
Resources
Teaching materials	9	Resourcing the needs to the school
Professional learning	4	Support staff with timely professional learning
Total	13 (2%)
Community involvement	11	Engage families and community in maths
Total	11 (2%)

Table 5. Number of SMLs assigned to each dominant theme across their three goals.

Dominant theme across three goals	All (n = 194)	Primary (n = 148)	Secondary (n = 46)
No dominant theme	47 (24%)	39 (26%)	8 (17%)
Students	20 (10%)	12 (8%)	8 (17%)
Teachers	11 (6%)	7 (5%)	4 (9%)
Teaching and Learning	92 (47%)	75 (51%)	17 (37%)
Resources	1 (1%)	1 (1%)	0 (0%)
Leadership	23 (12%)	14 (9%)	9 (20%)
Community involvement	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Table 6. Leading mathematics in the classroom (Q1) for all SMLs and each dominant theme in their goals (mean and standard deviation).

Leading activities	All (n = 196)	L & T (n = 92)	No dom (n = 47)	Lea’ship (n = 23)	Students (n = 20)	Teachers (n = 11)
Model mathematics lessons for other teachers	3.73 (1.9)	3.99 (1.8)	3.72 (1.9)	2.91 (1.7)	3.60 (2.0)	3.73 (2.0)
Co-plan individual mathematics lessons with classroom teacher(s)	4.49 (1.9)	4.95 (1.8)	4.19 (2.1)	3.52 (1.8)	4.55 (2.0)	4.09 (2.1)
Collect, analyse and discuss student work samples with the classroom teacher	4.14 (1.7)	4.24 (1.7)	4.13 (1.8)	3.74 (1.5)	4.20 (2.0)	4.00 (1.9)
Co-teach mathematics alongside teachers and review lesson	3.53 (2.0)	3.72 (2.0)	3.66 (2.0)	2.74 (1.5)	3.70 (2.2)	2.91 (1.8)
Observe and talk with students about their learning during mathematics lessons and provide feedback for the teacher	3.96 (2.0)	4.11 (2.0)	3.87 (2.1)	3.48 (2.1)	3.85 (1.9)	4.27 (2.3)
Talk to students about their learning during a mathematics lesson	5.14 (1.9)	5.07 (2.0)	5.26 (1.9)	4.74 (1.9)	5.40 (1.8)	5.91 (1.4)
Teach small groups of students for intervention or extension	4.00 (2.3)	4.07 (2.3)	3.91 (2.3)	4.39 (2.2)	3.65 (2.6)	3.45 (2.2)
Leading mathematics in the classroom M (SD)	4.07 (3.7)	4.30 (0.4)	4.08 (0.7)	3.65 (1.8)	4.14 (0.2)	4.05 (0.7)

Table 7. Leading mathematics beyond the classroom (Q2) by all SMLs and each dominant theme in their goals (mean and standard deviation).

Leading activities	All (n = 196)	L & T (n = 92)	No dom (n = 47)	Lea’ship (n = 23)	Students (n = 20)	Teachers (n = 11)
Mentor teachers of mathematics.	4.62 (2.0)	4.85 (1.8)	4.62 (2.0)	3.43 (2.1)	4.90 (1.9)	5.18 (2.0)
Facilitate or conduct professional learning for teachers of mathematics	4.72 (1.9)	4.78 (1.8)	5.13 (1.8)	3.70 (1.8)	4.60 (2.2)	5.36 (1.5)
Participate in team mathematics planning meetings	5.15 (2.0)	5.28 (1.9)	5.13 (1.9)	4.52 (2.4)	5.10 (2.1)	5.73 (1.4)
Facilitate meetings for assessment moderation	4.07 (2.0)	4.35 (1.8)	3.83 (2.0)	3.22 (1.9)	3.95 (2.4)	4.64 (1.9)
Facilitate formative assessment meetings to analyse student work	3.71 (1.9)	3.86 (1.8)	3.68 (2.1)	3.52 (2.0)	3.30 (2.1)	3.64 (2.1)
Facilitate meetings to analyse assessment data to refine and adjust curriculum based on identified needs of students	4.25 (1.8)	4.51 (1.6)	4.13 (2.0)	3.70 (1.7)	3.90 (2.1)	4.55 (1.8)
Design and lead mathematics assessment programs in the school	4.43 (1.9)	4.62 (1.7)	4.60 (2.0)	3.65 (2.1)	4.05 (2.2)	4.91 (1.9)
Engage parents and community in the school’s mathematics programme	2.84 (1.6)	2.86 (1.7)	2.98 (1.6)	2.30 (1.6)	3.10 (1.6)	2.82 (1.4)
Facilitate meetings to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improving teaching of mathematics/numeracy	4.07 (1.9)	4.16 (1.8)	4.11 (1.8)	3.39 (1.9)	3.95 (2.2)	4.91 (1.4)
Lead the design of goals for improving mathematics/numeracy teaching	4.42 (2.0)	4.53 (1.9)	4.32 (1.9)	3.87 (2.0)	4.30 (2.3)	5.36 (2.1)
Mentor teachers about opportunities for numeracy learning in other subjects	3.34 (1.8)	3.47 (1.8)	3.49 (1.9)	2.52 (1.5)	2.95 (1.9)	4.27 (1.8)
Participate in a network of mathematics/numeracy leaders	3.26 (2.0)	3.34 (2.0)	3.68 (2.0)	2.70 (1.8)	2.40 (2.0)	3.45 (1.9)
Leading mathematics beyond the classroom M (SD)	4.01 (3.8)	4.22 (0.4)	4.10 (0.1)	3.38 (1.4)	3.88 (0.8)	4.57 (0.9)

Table 8. Managing and administration (Q3) for all SMLs and each dominant theme in their goals (mean and standard deviation).

Leading activities	All (n = 196)	L & T (n = 92)	No dom (n = 47)	Lea’ship (n = 23)	Students (n = 20)	Teachers (n = 11)
Organise professional learning facilitated by external experts	3.16 (1.9)	3.41 (1.9)	2.91 (1.8)	2.48 (1.6)	3.40 (2.0)	3.64 (2.6)
Manage access to and purchasing of mathematics resources	5.23 (2.0)	5.28 (2.0)	4.96 (1.9)	4.96 (2.0)	5.80 (1.9)	5.64 (1.7)
Timetable and organise allocated planning time (APT)	3.19 (2.3)	3.16 (2.4)	2.51 (1.9)	3.43 (2.3)	3.90 (2.4)	4.91 (2.2)
Manage mathematics assessment programmes	4.56 (2.0)	4.61 (1.9)	4.30 (2.0)	4.04 (2.2)	4.95 (2.0)	6.00 (1.3)
Managing and administration M (SD)	3.99 (0.4)	4.12 (1.4)	3.63 (1.3)	3.73 (2.8)	4.51 (1.1)	5.05 (1.4)