Approaches to Evaluating Teaching for Mastery in
Secondary Mathematics Education

Abstract

Teaching for Mastery (TfM) in mathematics education is a pedagogical approach which seeks to develop students’ depth of understanding to ensure that they ‘master maths’ and develop a deep, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. The term was coined by the NCETM following
the England-Shanghai Teacher Exchange Programme of 2015 in a bid to address mathematics underperformance of students in England following transnational assessments.

This research explores observational methods for assessing the impact of TfM on secondary mathematics outcomes, and is the first of its kind in moving away from experimental approaches to attempt to ascribe cause to TfM at the individual, student level. The move away from an experimental approach comes from the need to overcome the risk of trial effects and bias that are inherent to approaches such as Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), and the wish to explore the longer-term impact of embedded TfM. This thesis explores the research field to date as well as other viable methods for ascribing cause, before justifying the use of propensity score matching methods.

Three individual school cases are considered, and propensity score matching methods applied and analysed, showing that observational methods may, to some extent, help evaluate curriculum interventions.