Making Sense of 'Mastery': Understandings of a Policy Term among a Sample of Teachers in England

Resumo

This paper considers the term 'mastery' as used in mathematics education across different times and locations. A case study from England is offered to show how these pedagogical approaches morph as they move from one territory to another, in the context of each territory's history. The paper first examines English policy documents, research and published curricula for their use of the term. This suggests that 'mastery' in England has become associated with mathematics teaching practices used in high-performing territories such as Singapore and Shanghai (China). But, the efforts to transport approaches predominately from East Asian sources, against the background of an existing Western set of meanings for the term, have led to considerable inconsistency in interpretations and definitions of the 'mastery approach'. A subsequent case study of eight teachers involved in developing mastery approaches in England explores how they make sense of 'mastery' in the context of these inconsistent messages. We suggest that this generates challenges for teachers tasked with implementing mastery approaches, with the danger that anything can be done in the name of mastery.

Dados da obra

Tipo

Artigo

Periódico

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education

Ano

2023

Idioma

en

Palavras-chave

Mastery Learning; Educational Policy; Foreign Countries; Policy Analysis; Curriculum Development; Mathematics Education; Secondary School Teachers

Temas

Currículo, Práticas Pedagógicas

ISSN

1571-0068

Acesso

Metadados apenas

Fontes

ERIC — Education Resources Information Center

Na Biblioteca desde

01/10/2026 · verificada em 03/10/2026