The Construction of Mathematical Knowledge and Learning in Individual Education Plans
Author(s):
Lena Sjöberg (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2013
Network:
09. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement
Format:
Paper

Session Information

09 SES 08 A, Findings from International Comparative Achievement Studies and their National Extensions: Issues in Equity and Inequality

Paper Session

Time:
2013-09-12
09:00-10:30
Room:
D-308
Chair:
Jana Strakova

Contribution

The Swedish school system is today characterized by increased assessment and documentation of students’ learning and study results. One reason for the extended assessment and documentation practice is that the performance of Swedish students on national and international tests and surveys has declined, particularly in relation to the results of other nations (Gonzales et al 2008; OECD 2010).

This study explores one contemporary predominant assessment practice, the Individual Education Plan (IEP). This plan, which is worked out twice a year at the parent-teacher conference, aims to describe both the status of the students' acquired knowledge and the modalities for future learning.

In this study I scrutinize how the students' mathematical knowledge and learning are constructed in and through the Individual Education Plans (IEP).  The Bernsteinian theories of how power relations are produced and reproduced in and through the education system are the main theoretical framework for the study (Bernstein 1990, 1996). ‘Pedagogic discourses’, how the choice of learning content (curriculum) and forms of teaching (pedagogy) operates in the teaching practices, is one of the important theoretical notions. Another perspective in the analysis is how teaching and learning are represented in relation to horizontal and vertical discourses (Bernstein 1999).

The more specific aim of the study is to scrutinize the Individual Education Plans (IEPs) in relation to how they produce and reproduce both 'valid' mathematical knowledge (curriculum) and the forms of valid mathematical transmission/teaching (pedagogy). In addition, the study aims to scrutinize whther different mathematical content and modes of learning are emphasized for girls and boys

Questions:

• What mathematical content is presented as central and essential and are there skills and knowledge in the syllabus that are absent in the Individual Education Plans?
• How is the mathematical learning constructed in and through the Individual Education Plans?
• Are there any differences between girls and boys in the assessment practice, and if so, what sort of differences?

Method

Methods The study includes 233 Individual Education Plans from five municipalities and thirty one schools in western Sweden. The plans were obtained by a systematic sampling at each school, where class lists from all classes in the relevant grade in each school were sequenced and every fifth child on the list was drawn. The plans belong to students in the fifth year of primary school (11-12 years old). The specific age-group is chosen in view of the fact that grade five is one important control point in the Swedish national curricula/syllabus, with explicit learning goals for the various subjects. The analysis was performed in several steps. Initially, a broader form of text analysis (content analysis) was conducted, where the contents in the documents were classified and coded according to the descriptions of the acquired knowledge and the future learning goals. The analysis was then developed by a comparison to the national syllabi/curricula and later by a quantitative analysis, where focus was put on differences in the subject constructions and in relation to gender.

Expected Outcomes

Preliminary results The preliminary results show that mathematics is one of the highlighted subjects in this documentation practice. The substantive foci in the plans are quite limited, with substantial emphasis on arithmetic, and other atomistic, knowledge. Different forms of table training (especially multiplication) and written calculation methods are areas especially highlighted as important learning areas for the students, while more complex skills such as problem solving and logical reasoning are rarely mentioned. The relationship between the statements in the Individual Education Plans on the one hand and curricular targets in mathematics on the other is generally weak. Moreover, the plans show different expectations on learning between girls and boys, where girls to a greater extent than boys are expected to focus their learning on written calculation methods and problem solving. In the boys’ plans, on the other hand, more attention are given to behavioral aspects, such as doing right things on right time.

References

References Bernstein, Basil. (1990). Class, codes and control, vol. 4: The structuring of pedagogic discourse. London: Routledge. Bernstein, Basil. (1996). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: theory, research, critique. London: Taylor and Francis. Bernstein, Basil (1999). Vertical and Horizontal discourses: an essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 157-173 Gonzales, P., Williams, T., Jocelyn, L., Roey, S., Kastberg, D., and Brenwald, S. (2008). Highlights From TIMSS 2007:Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context (NCES 2009–001 Revised). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do – Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science(Volume I)http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264091450-en

Author Information

Lena Sjöberg (presenting / submitting)
University West
Trollhättan

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