[Maths-Education] Re: Research and teacher practices for 'working class' underachievement in secondary mathematics

[Matt Dickenson]

Hi All

We (London G&T) have done quite a bit of work on academic literacy with
schools in challenging (and less challenging) settings, much of which has
arisen developed from an explicit focus on teaching and learning for
advanced bilingual learners.
Without an explicit focus on language, even high achieving mathematicians
and those for whom language no longer seems to be an issue (conversationally
fluent etc) are likely to underachieve, or will struggle to maintain their
mathematical development beyond Key Stage 4.

But this is not just an issue for learners of English as an additional
language. Formal English might as well be regarded as an additional language
for many children with English as their first language.
 
It is not just linguistic resources that the students need; there are often
huge gaps in cultural capital and experience, which can prevent them from
engaging with challenge in learning. It is also often the case that the
working class underachiever previous postings have referred to will tend not
see language as a resource for learning, whereas EAL learners mostly will.

Teachers have a tendency to think that learners with a OEdeficit¹ tend to
need support and this has been very much in keeping with/reinforced by the
language used by the National Strategies and others. But often in providing
this support there is a tendency to negate the purpose of the challenge in
the learning. 

There is also a tendency to use the word support in the absence of an
understanding of what is really meant. Disadvantaged learners may need
support in accessing challenge in their learning, but critically they don¹t
need the challenge to be simplified out of it and to be spoon-fed
pre-digested chunks in a way that enables them to consume more, but digest
less. They don¹t need teachers who see learning as avoiding or practising
out mistakes. 
 
Students need structures to be able to understand how to deal with language
and to enable them to develop a variety of ways to think mathematically and
this is support that teachers can give.  But, it is readily apparent that
maths teachers won¹t necessarily regard themselves as teachers of language
and that many lack an understanding of how formal language works, or how it
can be explicitly developed through ordinary classroom learning. Language is
acquired in context ­ mathematical language needs to be taught in the
context of mathematical thinking.

Would be happy to share some ideas from the work that we have done in this
area if colleagues are interested.

Best wishes

Matt


Matt Dickenson
Equalities & Achievement Director

London Gifted & Talented
91 Berwick St, LONDON W1F 0BP
Fax: 020 7287 6970

07817 552806

www.londongt.org   

The REAL Project ­ Realising Equality & Achievement for Learners
www.realproject.org.uk
--  



On 28/02/2011 07:19, "Lerman, Stephen" <lermans at lsbu.ac.uk> wrote:

> Dylan's contribution is very interesting and helpful. But I think it supports
> Basil Bernstein's argument. He was indicating the lack of linguistic resources
> that generally is found amongst children from working class and other
> disadvantaged backgrounds, and the ways that schooling reinforces that
> linguistic disadvantage, but in pointing out the causes he was also
> demonstrating that if schools can provide those resources on school entrance
> (small classes, informed teachers etc.) those children can acquire the
> resources needed. Dylan is showing us that Scandinavian schools provide those
> resources and it has some success.
> 
> Steve 
> 
> Professor Stephen Lerman
> Department of Education
> London South Bank University
> 103 Borough Road 
> LONDON SE1 0AA 
> Tel: +44 (0)20 7815 7440
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: maths-education-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk on behalf of
> dylanwiliam at mac.com
> Sent: Sun 2/27/2011 8:55 PM
> To: Mathematics Education discussion forum
> Cc: phillip.kent at gmail.com
> Subject: [Maths-Education] Re: Research and teacher practices for 'working
> class' underachievement in secondary mathematics
> 
>  
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> 
> While I agree that the link between socioeconomic disadvantage and educational
> achievement is not a new phenomenon, it is also worth noting that it is not
> universal. We will probably never stop affluent parents from securing
> educational advantages for their children, but there are countries that have
> managed to ensure that socioeconomic disadvantage does not lead to lower
> achievement. While in the US and the UK, the relationship between the income
> of parents and children is linear (and steeper in the US than the UK) in some
> countries, it is not. Notably in some Scandinavian countries, while the
> richest do best, the poorest do as well as average students. In fact the
> research on educational quality, whether in child care, primary school, or
> secondary schools, shows that high-quality education benefits low achievers
> more than higher achievers. In some studies, this effect has been so strong
> that the effect of quality teaching has completely overcome socio-economic
> disadvantage. So it may be that Basil Bernstein was wrong. Education _can_
> perhaps compensate for society, provided it is of very high quality. I
> therefore see the challenge as political-how to get get the best teachers
> working with the students who need them most...
> 
> Dylan Wiliam 
> 
> 
> On 27 Feb 2011, at 17:59, Alan Rogerson wrote:
> 
>> > 
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>> > Dear Phillip, 
>> > 
>> > The link: 
>> > 
>> > 
>> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/social-class-deter
>> mines-childs-success-934240.html
>> > 
>> > makes depressing reading: eg
>> > 
>> > Children's social class is still the most significant factor in determining
>> their exam success in state schools, the Government's head of teacher
>> training acknowledges today. In an interview with The Independent, Graham
>> Holley, the chief executive of the Training and Development Agency, said:
>> "The performance of a school and a child in it is highly linked to social
>> class. If you turn the clock back on pupils in school today 15 years and
>> predict their outcomes from where they were born, you can do it. We need to
>> change that. It's not something this government has done. It's not something
>> the last government has done. It's something that has been there since the
>> Second World War and probably even before that."
> 
>> > 
>> > There is no "probably" (Graham was simply restricting his comments to his
>> own experience) the right word is "inevitably".
> 
>> > 
>> > As you will recall, I told you of my experiences of working class culture
>> growing up after WW2, and sadly and clearly the problem is still with us, and
>> in no way is it restricted to mathematics! We are speaking here of the
>> strength of exclusive social/cultural world-views derived from primary
>> socialisation,... "give us a child until he is 11"..... etc.
> 
>> > 
>> > Best wishes, 
>> > Alan 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > On 18/02/2011 15:08, Phillip Kent wrote:
>>> >> 
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>>> discussion list.
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>>> >> Dear colleagues,
>>> >> 
>>> >> I'd appreciate some pointers to research and guidance on dealing with
>>> >> the problem of 'working class' underachievement in maths in secondary
>>> >> school. I realise there is a huge literature on this, in terms of
>>> >> statistical analysis on the existence of the problem, sociological-type
>>> >> analysis of classroom behaviours (a la Bernstein, etc), and research on
>>> >> teachers' beliefs about 'ability' and so on.
>>> >> 
>>> >> However, I'm specifically interested in any research/guidance about what
>>> >> is effective for maths teachers to do in practice in classrooms. There
>>> >> is a very familiar type of student who for 'social' reasons comes to
>>> >> construct for him or herself an identity as someone who 'can't do
>>> >> maths', which is not related to his or her actual mathematical
>>> >> potential. Then how should the teacher break through this identity to
>>> >> tap into the actual potential and interest?
>>> >> 
>>> >> Perhaps I am wrong to see this as essentially a problem of 'class'. Any
>>> >> thoughts welcome.
>>> >> 
>>> >> - Phillip 
>>> >> 
>> > 
>> > 
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