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

Tue Mar 1 22:02:21 GMT 2011

Given the important issues this is sparking off and the deep connection it has for some of us....

...is anybody interested in putting together with me a DG for ICME-12 on Teaching mathematics to learners from disadvantaged backgrounds (or some similarly worded topic?)

See details below...

Peter.
Dr Peter Gates
Centre for Research in Mathematics Education
School of Education
University of Nottingham

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ICME-12: 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education
July 8-15, 2012, Seoul, Korea.

A call for ICME-12 Discussion Groups

Contrary to past ICME practice, Discussion Groups for ICME-12 will be
created in response to a proposal submitted by a group of up to five
persons representing a diverse region of the world.
As their name suggests, Discussion Groups (DGs) are designed to gather
Congress participants who are interested in discussing, in a genuinely
interactive way, certain challenging, controversial or emerging issues and
dilemmas of interest to an international or regional audience. The focus
of DGs should be distinct from the subjects covered in the Topic Study
Groups (TSG) (see TSG listing attached) but could discuss a specific issue
in greater detail than that of a TSG.  Each DG will be allocated two time
slots of 90 minutes each during the Congress.

A proposal should include
-- Description of the background and expertise of the proposed organizers
-- Detailed description of the topic including anticipated aims and a
rationale for the topic
-- Key questions and issues for the DG to consider
-- A precise description of the anticipated structure that will be used to
manage the discussion during the two sessions, taking into account there
will be no oral presentations in a DG except introductions by the
organizers of the group to provide the background and framework for the
discussion.

Application forms are available on the website (http://icme12.org).
Members of the organizing team must conform to the ICME custom that a
person may only play one major (TSG, DG, Survey Team, Panel, plenary and
regular lecture) and one minor role (poster presentation & other forms of
contribution to the scientific program) at ICME. Note that proposing a DG
will be considered a major role. Proposals should be received by the
International Program Committee (IPC) by June 30, 2011. Proposals will be
reviewed in accordance to the relevance of the topic to an international
audience, the diversity and expertise of the proposed organizing team, and
the format proposed for the discussion. Proposers will be notified of
acceptance by August 15, 2011.

Tasks for Organizing Teams (OT)
The OT will be expected to:
* Set up and maintain the DG web page
Before the congress, the discussion group organizing team will post their
page at the ICME-12 web site (http://icme12.org ) including contributions
that define, limit, and/or present basic premises, theoretical
considerations, research findings, viewpoints and facts that should be
accounted for if a fruitful discussion is to be attained. Prior to the
congress, participants can send individual contributions to the organizers
for consideration as additional background information and may raise
questions or participate in an exchange of ideas through the web site.
* Produce a progress report by December 30, 2011
* Submit a final version of the DG presentation to be included in the
Final program booklet. The final version must be sent to the Local
Organizing Committee by April 10th, 2012. This description for the Final
Program booklet should be between one and two pages (700 to 1,400 words)
with the following:
  a) Name of DG and composition of the organizing team
  b) General description of the program for this DG; that is the aims,
scope, list of main questions it addresses, the rationale which guided
the OT in arriving at the program, and so on.
  c) The program of the DG, that is, the manner in which the discussion is
organized and distributed in the two sessions.
* Organize and manage the DG sessions during the Congress
* Produce a final report for the ICME-12 Proceedings

Deadline summary:
-- June 30, 2011    Proposal submission
-- August 15, 2011    Notification of acceptance
-- December 30, 2011    Progress report
-- April 10, 2012    Final version of the DG program submitted to Local
Organizing Committee

An IPC liaison will be appointed for each DG. The role of the IPC liaison
officer is to support and be an important resource on how a DG works.
Another source for information and guidance in planning a DG are the
websites of recent ICMEs (see http://icme11.org and http://www.icme10.dk
).
Thank you for your willingness to contribute to the success of ICME-12. We
are looking forward to an energetic exchange of ideas and information
through the Discussion Groups.

-----Original Message-----
From: maths-education-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:maths-education-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Lerman, Stephen
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 7:20 AM
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

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-determines-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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>> 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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