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90 °^''°^jjJj||||j| '1 f I • Copyright statement: This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation firom the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. 1 Interactive teaching in the National Numeracy Strategy: tensions in a supportive framework by NICHOLAS MALCOLM PRATT A thesis submitted to the University of Plymouth in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty of Education University of Plymouth Library Item No.^ ^ A Item on Hold Interactive teaching in the National Numeracy Strategy : tensions in a supportive frameworl< / by Nicholas Malcolm Pratt. Pratt, Nicholas Malcolm. 372.72 PRA ^/10/2011 LIBRARY. Nicholas Malcolm Pratt Interactive teaching in the National Numeracy Strategy: tensions in a supportive framework Abstract This thesis is an exploratory study of teachers' and children's understandings of the National Numeracy Strategy, and of interactive whole class teaching in particular. It starts by identifying aspects of the Strategy that are of significance to teachers and develops these by detailing the challenges that face them in teaching in this way. Data are collected by means of interviews and classroom observations, progressively focusing the study. In particular, the way in which teachers and children understand the role of discourse in whole class discussion is examined. This understanding illuminates a tension between the rhetoric of the Strategy, which appears to promote a view of learning that is based firmly on negotiation of meaning through discourse, and its practice, which is seen to be little different from forms of pedagogy that have preceded it. The contribution to knowledge made by the thesis is represented by several features. First, it lies in the detail of the exploration of the interaction between teacher and children, illuminating new ideas about the nature of such interaction in the context of whole class teaching. Though discursive interaction has been examined in some depth through previous studies, few have done so in this context. Second the study's findings relate specifically to the National Numeracy Strategy and again, in complementing other recent (mainly quantitative) studies, it therefore relates previous theory to this particular contemporary initiative. Third, in addition to new knowledge in the field of class interaction and mathematics pedagogy, it develops a novel method of data collection from children, making use of video of children's own involvement in mathematics lessons to stimulate reflection in interviews. 3 Acknowledgements Though the content of this thesis is, ultimately, my own responsibility, its completion pays tribute to the help and support of a great many people. First, I thank my supervisors. Professor John Berry, Professor Peter Woods and Professor Andy Hannan, each of whom has played a major part in supporting and guiding me over the course of my work and who have, together, formed an excellent and complementary team. Second, I thank my coUieagues in the Faculty of Education, many of whom have covered periods of absence from work to allow me to study or have offered ideas and criticism at opportime moments. Of these. Dr. Peter Kelly has been particularly helpfiil m challenging my ideas, bringing new ones to bear and in helping me to ensure that I thought in greater depth than I might otherwise have done. Finally, all those completing a PhD rely for support on their family. Thanks therefore to my wife Sue and my three children, Isobel, Bethan and Samuel, whose births span the period of study almost exactly. Without their support and patience I would never have reached this point. 4 Author's declaration At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award. The study was supported by several research bursaries funded internally by the Faculty of Education (then the RoUe School of Education) of the University of Plymouth, through its research sub-committee. This included a term's sabbatical leave. Throughout the study, internal seminars and external conferences were attended, including, in relation to the latter, the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics. Publications resulting from the study: Pratt, N. (2002) 'Mathematics As Thinking', Mathematics Teaching, 181, pp. 34 - 37. Pratt, N. (2003) 'On Martyn Hammersley's Critique of Bassey's Concept of the Fu2zy Generalisation', Oxford Review of Education, 29(1), pp. 27 - 32. External conference paper given: Pratt (2003) 'Children's perceptions of whole class interactive teaching: 'mental-oral' or 'mental-aural'?', paper given at British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics Day Conference, held at University of Oxford, June 7'*, 2003, BSRLM Contents LIST OF FIGURES 8 LIST OF TABLES 9 CHAPTER 1 - THE NATIONAL NUMERACY STRATEGY 10 INTRODUCTION 10 AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 13 THE BACKGROUND TO THE NATIONAL NUMERACY STRATEGY •. 14 ' WHAT IS THE NATIONAL NUMERACY STRATEGY? 14 CHAPTER 2 - THE 'ACTUAL POLICY' OF THE NNS 36 SUMMARY 44 POSSIBILITIES FOR POLICY-IN-USE-TWO IDEAL TYPES 46 CHAPTER 3 - METHODS AND METHODOLOGY 66 METHODOLOGICAL OVERVIEW 66 METHODS 80 ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE RESEARCH 100 SUMMARY 105 CHAPTER 4 - TEACHERS' INITIAL CONCEPTIONS OF THE NNS 107 INTRODUCTION 107 TEACHERS' VIEWS OF THE NNS 109 TEACHERS' VIEWS OF MATHEMATICS 125 IMPLICATIONS AND DISCUSSION , 128 SUMMARY 136 CHAPTER 5 - TEACHERS' CLASSROOM PRACTICES 138 INTRODUCTION 138 THE SCHOOLS 139 HEATHER 140 MARY 142 6 FRANCES ; H4 THE TEACHERS' PRACTICES 146 THE CHALLENGES OF 'WHOLE CLASS INTERACTIVE TEACHING' 164 CHAPTER 6 - CHILDREN'S PERSPECTIVES i 198 INTRODUCTION 198 CONTEXT-THE THREE LESSONS : , 201 CHILD INTERVIEWS - DATA AND ANALYSIS : .....210 CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF WHOLE CLASS INTERACTIVE TEACHING , 213 SUMMARY 235 CHAPTER 7 - THE CASE FOR DISCOURSE IN THE NNS 239 INTRODUCTION 239 DISCUSSION 261 CHAPTER 8 - CONCLUDING DISCUSSION 266 SUMMARY OF THEMES THROUGH THE THESIS 266 THE ROOT OF SYSTEMIC TENSIONS IN THE NATIONAL NUMERACY STRATEGY , 270 THE CHALLENGE OF INTERACTIVE MATHEMATICS TEACHING 274 CONCLUDING REMARKS 286 OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 289 APPENDICES. 291 REFERENCES 323 7 List of Figures Figure 1 - Key Moment 1: cliildren are asked to respond to teacher questions 192 Figure 2 - Key Moment 2: children are asked to give individual explanations 193 Figure 3 - Key Moment 3: teacher 'supports' a child's explanation 194 Figure 4 - Key Moment 4: teacher picks up on a child's point to teach ah idea 196 Figure 5 - Interrelated issues for 'deep' mathematical learning 288 8 List of Tables Table 1 - Competing ideologies in the intended policy of the NNS , 34 Table 2 - Intended and Actual policy of the NNS 46 Table 3 - Comparison of postulates for the two major research paradigms 68 Table 4 - Profiles of teachers in phase 1 82 Table 5 - Analysis of the 'trustworthiness' of the research:, phase 1 88 Table 6 - Analysis of the 'trustworthiness' of the research: phase 2 100 Table 7 - Teachers' perceived need to change practice as a result of the NNS 151 Table 8 - Teachers' understandings of the nature of mathematics and changes to the curriculum 157 Table 9 - Recommended changes to practice as a result of the NNS 163 9 Chapter 1 - The National Numeracy Strategy Introduction In September 1999 the National Numeracy Strategy (henceforth referred to as 'the NNS', or simply 'the Strategy') was formally launched in schools by the Labour government of the time and the Secretary of State for Education, David Blunkett. Its introduction, in the wake of the National Literacy Strategy a year earlier, signalled a significant change in approach to the teaching of mathematics, both in terms of its focus - with a greater emphasis on numerical calculation - and its pedagogical practice. Politically speaking this was a crucial time for a 'New Labour' government that had come to power two years earlier, after 17 years in opposition, and was desperate to be seen to change things for the better. A sense of this drive is gained from a letter from Blunkett to all teachers in England in September 1998 in which he stated that 'this will be another important year inour crusade to raise standards' and that he 'held out the prospect of a new beginning - a chance to rebuild (sic) pride in the teaching profession and to offer the very best to all our children' (Blunkett, 1998). This drive to 'raise educational standards' had been fuelled by a number of things. In the wider picture it can be seen as part of the reform of education generally that had taken place so intensely over the previous 15 years under the last Conservative government. This included the introduction of a National Curriculum (subsequently revised twice) with statutory testing for 7 and 11 year olds, the replacement of Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) by Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED), a new National Curriculum for teacher training (Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), 1998c; and subsequently Department for Education and Skills (DIES), 2002), the implementation of a mandatory headship qualification, the introduction of performance 10 management with a strong emphasis on test results as a measure of success (DfEE, 2000), performance related pay via threshold standards which require that the pupils being taught show gains in test scores and Achievement Awards which paid direct financial bonuses to teaching staff and were designated centrally by the DfEE to schools which achieve exam success. All these initiatives were taking place in the context of a new 'managerialist discourse' (see, for example. Woods et al, 1997) in which schools were being handed more and more responsibility for their own financial governance, though less and less for their own curriculum organisation. A part of this was a greatly increased accountability, with schools being ranked in 'league tables' according to end of Key Stage (KS) test scores.

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