Primary mathematics and social pedagogic collaborative group work in primary schools in England and Hong Kong (the HK-UK SPeCTRM project)

Hargreaves, Linda (2018). Primary mathematics and social pedagogic collaborative group work in primary schools in England and Hong Kong (the HK-UK SPeCTRM project). [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-851512

This bilateral research project capitalises on Hong Kong primary teachers’ mathematics expertise and UK primary teachers’ use of collaborative groupwork, thereby recognising the two administrations’ respective concerns to develop interactive pedagogy and improve teachers’ subject knowledge. It complements the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme project: ‘Improving Effectiveness of Pupil Groups in Classrooms’, which combined the social and cognitive aspects of groupwork into an effective social pedagogy. It aims to: establish an intercultural community of practice between English and Hong Kong primary teachers and researchers for the sharing of knowledge and expertise provide professional development for primary teachers in understanding and applying social pedagogic principles to groupwork in mathematics determine the effects of carefully implemented groupwork on teachers’ self efficacy to teach mathematics and children’s higher order mathematical thinking. To achieve these aims, the specific objectives are: (i) to assess a sample of primary school teachers' levels of mathematical and pedagogic knowledge and self-efficacy for teaching mathematics in Hong Kong and England (ii) to introduce and assess the use of social pedagogic-based groupwork skills with focused groups of primary school mathematics teachers in Hong Kong and England (iii) to compare for effects over time and between cultures of effective groupwork skills on teachers' self-efficacy for teaching mathematics, and teachers' and pupils' mathematics achievement demanding higher order thinking. In both countries, ten teachers will learn to apply social pedagogical principles to their mathematics teaching, while ten more teachers and classes will form control groups. Face-to-face and digital communication will facilitate the sharing of pedagogical and subject knowledge in the local and inter-cultural communities of practice respectively. Teachers’ subject knowledge and teaching self-efficacy, pupil tests and classroom observations will form measures of professional development

Data description (abstract)

In this project data were collected in parallel using essentially the same instruments but adjusted to optimise cultural validity. This means that cross culture comparisons must be made with caution and awareness of the differences between the instruments and between the two educational cultures. 20 Hong Kong and 17 English primary teachers representing 10 schools in each country took part. In HK the teachers were all mathematics teachers working with 400+ 10-11 year olds. In England the teachers were primary generalist teachers working with 200+ pupils in the 9 - 11 age range. The data collection includes: quantitative data on: - audit of teachers' mathematical knowledge and confidence at start of project (20 HK teachers and 17 English teachers) - pre and post intervention project data on teacher mathematical pedagogical self-efficacy -classroom observational data on pupil talk in groups - pre and post intervention pupil mathematics attainment data - post intervention attitudes to group work and mathematics data from the English pupils -qualitative data pre and post intervention interviews with the English teachers about their attitudes, experience and concerns on using group work in mathematics

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