Mathematics at Nuffield

The Nuffield Foundation is committed to improving mathematics education for all.

Mathematics is taken by the Nuffield Foundation to mean quantitative and/or logical approaches. This includes mathematics and statistics, and aspects of computing, financial literacy and problem-solving.

The Nuffield Foundation is supporting three strands of inquiry and development in mathematics education.

• fostering participation and achievement post-16: supporting pathways to encourage uptake of mathematics post-16, especially for students for whom A-level or retaking GCSE mathematics may not be appropriate
• national and international perspectives: research and analysis to ensure an evidence-based approach to the above and to influence government policy in England
• how younger children learn mathematics: funding research on how children learn mathematics, and production of evidence-based reviews for teachers, curriculum designers and researchers.

 

Fostering participation and achievement post-16

There are around 650,000 students in their final year of compulsory schooling in England and Wales (largely 16-year-olds). Of these:

Cohort A1: Just over 100,000 take mathematics at AS and A-level. Numbers of students taking AS and A-level mathematics and further mathematics are rising substantially.

Cohort A2: About 200,000 need some mathematics beyond GCSE, for higher education and for work, but the existing mathematics A-level would not be an appropriate choice for most of these students. Options such as Free Standing Mathematics Qualifications exist but have limited recognition and take-up.

Cohort G: Over 300,000 have below a C grade in GCSE mathematics. Current British government advice is that they should retake their mathematics GCSE by the age of 19, but most do not improve their grade.

The Nuffield Foundation would like all students to have a meaningful mathematical experience post-16, via mathematics courses and in other subject courses, and our present focus is on cohorts A2 and G.

More about Nuffield work in mathematics education post-16 

More about maths in other subjects   

 

National and international perspectives

There is a growing consensus in the English education and educational policy arena that all students should be doing some mathematics post-16, using approaches aligned with their interests, dispositions, and chosen areas of study and work. The present policy climate is as favourable as it has been for many years.

Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of vocational education makes a strong case that mathematics and English should be a core requirement for all vocational students. The British government has responded positively and has launched a consultation.

The Nuffield Foundation report Is the UK an outlier? showing how poorly England performs relative to 20 other OECD countries, has had a lot of attention – see below.

The Mathematical needs Report from the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME), and the report from Carol Vorderman’s group, (commissioned by the Conservatives)  A world-class mathematics education for all our young people both argue for greatly extended and enhanced participation in mathematics post-16. They both cite the Nuffield Is the UK an outlier? report extensively.

Drawing on these reports, at a speech to the Royal Society on 29 June 2011, the Secretary of State for Education said: ‘I think we should set a new goal for the education system so that within a decade the vast majority of pupils are studying maths right through to the age of 18.’

 

How younger children learn mathematics

More information about Nuffield work on how younger children learn mathematics .