Curricular Alignments International Baccalaureate & Spanish Secondary Education In The Area Of Mathematics

Author(s):

Rocío Garrido(presenting / submitting)Maripé Menéndez(presenting)Tania Alonso Gabriel Álvarez

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

24. Mathematics Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

24 SES 10, Teacher Training

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-10

15:30-17:00

Room:

430.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

Joana Mata-Pereira

Contribution

Late last century the pillars of mathematical education derived from the goals and objectives set by D'Ambrosio began to settle (1979) and the results were obtained by the Cokcroft (1982) Report. The notion of curriculum has been shown as particularly useful in the characterisation of the mathematical training of schools during the period of compulsory education (Rico, Díez, Castro & Lupiáñez, 2011). This scientific production has tried to determine the optimal maths curriculum, and it has usually started from the point of understanding what the purposes of school mathematics are (Cockroft, 1982; Howson, Keitel and Kilpatrick, 1981; NCTM, 1989; Romberg, 1992; Steiner, 1980).

Over the years the traditional mathematics curriculum has been built through pieces of information and techniques to be mastered, barely emphasizing the skills that are developed in each domain and their use in adult life (Rico, 2006). Besides, it has been continually adapting to the trends of international organizations (Rico et al., 2011) and UNESCO (2011), IEA (Mulis et al., 2013), OECD (2013, 2014) and the NCTM (2010).

In this regard, we highlight one of the latest reports (UNESCO, 2011). It determines a high quality mathematical education that is accepted by the experts as it is remarkable in its connection to mathematical literacy (Artigue, 2012). This term coined by the OECD (2000) to measure performance in mathematics from the PISA tests, has caused a change from conceptual to competency and this is reflected in our national curriculum.

Changing the mathematics curriculum as the exclusive consequence of a low position in international assessments should not be the solution (Leung, 2014; Meyer & Benavot, 2013), recently a new law LOMCE (Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality) has been approved in Spain (2013) and in December 2014 the new math curriculum for compulsory secondary education (ESO) was approved. The differences with the former Education Act - Organic Law of Education (LOE, 2006) in the mathematics curriculum and the influence which "the regime of standardization and governance of the OECD" (Luengo, 2015) has had, makes pertinent the analysis of the convergence and divergences of both laws.

On the other hand, we have the the International Baccalaureate MYP programmes which is offered in several schools in Spain. The Middle Years Program (MYP) is settled in 10 secondary education schools. The MYP’s mathematics curriculum (IBO, 2014) focuses on lifelong learning, interdisciplinary nature, effective use of ICT, amongst other values, and, above all, it is undertaken with a skill-centered approach where the conception of assessment is closed to the OECD guidelines for mathematical literacy.

The main objective of our work is to analyze the differences and similarities between the mathematics curriculum in the MYP and the current Spanish national curricula of compulsory secondary education (ESO), both the current (LOMCE, 2013) and the former one (LOE, 2006).

The research questions are as follows: In what ways does the IB MYP align with national mathematical education requirements with regards to compulsory secondary education (ESO) curriculum aims, content and core competencies, pedagogical approaches, assessment practices, and philosophical underpinnings? To what degree are the non‐scholastic attributes of the learner profile (e.g. ‘caring’, ‘principled’, ‘open-minded’, ‘balanced’ and ‘reflective’) congruent with Spanish mathematical education principles and standards? To what extent is the MYP an enabling framework for achieving Spanish education reforms with regards to mathematical education improvement and student retention? In what ways does the MYP framework support Spanish schools in meeting European Union Key Competencies for Life Long Learning? To what extent does the MYP prepare students for national and international assessments of mathematics? Is the MYP more aligned with high achievements in PISA assessments?

Method

This research is set out to map similarities and differences between the IB MYP and Spanish national middle years mathematics curriculum goals and requirements, through a dual-phase study. The first comparative phase of the study will consist of a comprehensive document review to contrast the academic, non-scholastic, assessment and philosophical dimensions of the MYP and Spanish mathematical curricula. To this purpose we will use the research methodology for comparative education that García-Garrido (1991) has established. The second phase will consist of school case studies to report perceived benefits, enablers and challenges experienced by schools when seeking to ensure alignment between the MYP and Spanish mathematics curriculum objectives. The case studies will also explore the degree to which schools perceive the MYP as a relevant framework for middle years education in Spain. In this phase the research team will use the case study research methodology with a mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques. In addition to a documentary analysis of a variety of archives such as school policies, meeting minutes and curriculum planning, in order to address the descriptive study we will design ad-hoc surveys, semi-structured interviews and discussion and focus groups.

Expected Outcomes

The mathematics curriculum has been a recurring theme since late last century. The search for an international benchmark to focus on how and on what terms school mathematics must be run, has been the subject of numerous researches and reports. It seems that European and international trends are giving strength to the mathematical competence and level of mathematical literacy as a measured object. The implications of PISA tests make educational policies focus more and more on getting a curriculum aligned with international policies. In the Spanish context we have two educational reforms outlined in this sense: LOE and LOMCE. Taking advantage of the fact that we have 10 Spanish schools offering the Middle Years Program of the prestigious International Baccalaureate, we will compare their maths curriculum with the previously mentioned Spanish national system. This paper aims to show how the differences and similarities between them are at both documentary level and at the level of perception of the main actors, namely, teachers and students. Our expectation is that the MYP curriculum is much more aligned with international trends in mathematics, and also to the new LOMCE, in detriment to the LOE. If our hypothesis is confirmed it could provoke a greater acceptance of the International Baccalaureate from the Spanish educational community as a curriculum choice.

References

Artigue, M. (2013). La educación matemática como un campo de investigación y como un campo de práctica : Resultados, Desafíos. Cuadernos de Investigación y Formación en Educación Matemática, 11, 43-59. Cockcroft, W (Ed.) (1982). Mathematics Counts. Londres: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. D’Ambrosio, U. (1979). Metas y objetivos generales de la Educación Matemática, En Steiner, H; Christiansen, B. (Eds.) Nuevas Tendencias en la Enseñanza de la Matemática Volumen IV. París: Unesco. Eurydice (2011). Mathematics Education in Europe : Common Challenges and National Policies New. Brussels: European Commission. García Garrido J.L. (1991). Fundamentos de Educación Comparada. Madrid: Dykinson. Howson, G., Keitel, C. y Kilpatrick, J. (1981). Currículum Development in Mathematics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. International Baccalaureate (2014). Mathematics Guide: Middle Years. UK: IBO. Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 196, de 4 de mayo de 2006, pp. 17158 a 17207. Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 295, de 10 de diciembre de 2013, pp. 97858 a 97921. Leung, F. K. S. (2014). What can and should we learn from international studies of mathematics achievement? Mathematics Education Research Journal, 26 (3), 579-605. Meyer, H. & Benavot, A. (2013). PISA, power and policy: the emergence of global educational governance. Oxford: Symposium Books. Mulis, I.V.S., Martin, M.O., Foy, P. & Arora (2012). Timss 2011 International Results in Mathematics. Boston: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989). Currículum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, Virginia: NCTM. OECD (2013). PISA 2012 Results: What Students Know and Can Do? Student Performance in Mathematics, Reading and Science (Volume I). OECD Publishing Rico, L. (2006). Marco teórico de evaluación en PISA sobre matemáticas y resolución de problemas. Revista de Educación, extraordinario, 275-294. Rico, Díez, Castro & Lupiáñez (2011).Currículo de matemáticas para la educación obligatoria en España durante el periodo 1945-2010. Educatio Siglo XXI, 29 (2), 139-172 Saura, G. & Luengo, J. J. (2015). Política global más allá de lo nacional. Reforma educativa (LOMCE) y el régimen de estandarización (OECD). Bordón. Revista de pedagogía, 67(1), 135-148. UNESCO (2011). Les défis de l’enseignement des mathématiques dans l’éducation de base. Paris : UNESCO.

Author Information

Rocío Garrido (presenting / submitting)

Madrid Open University, Spain

Maripé Menéndez (presenting)

International Baccalaureate

Tania Alonso

Autonomous University of Madrid

Gabriel Álvarez

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Didáctica y Teoría de la Educación

Madrid

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