Mathematics and the national curriculum: primary teachers’ attitudes

Abstract

This paper reports on the attitudes of 901 primary school teachers in England and Wales towards the new national curriculum in mathematics, as well as English and science. It was found that most teachers perceive themselves to be competent to teach this new curriculum in mathematics (and English) but not in science. It is argued that this is because the national curriculum in mathematics represents a codification of existing content and practice. A comparison with a text widely used in the mathematical preparation of primary school teachers provides supporting evidence for this view. With the exception of computer‐based mathematics and increased attention to probability and statistics (data handling), the national curriculum in mathematics reflects the curriculum which has been taught in most primary schools for two decades.

¹This research is part of the Leverhulme Primary Project, directed by Professor S. N. Bennett and Professor E. C. Wragg and co‐ordinated by Clive Carre, at the University of Exeter School of Education. We are grateful to Clive Carre for constructive criticism of an earlier draft of this paper.

Notes

† Centre for Advanced Teaching Studies, Education Department of Tasmania.

¹This research is part of the Leverhulme Primary Project, directed by Professor S. N. Bennett and Professor E. C. Wragg and co‐ordinated by Clive Carre, at the University of Exeter School of Education. We are grateful to Clive Carre for constructive criticism of an earlier draft of this paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rex Stoessiger†

† Centre for Advanced Teaching Studies, Education Department of Tasmania.