Motivating the unmotivated - What we can learn from students disaffected with school mathematics

Presented by Dr Gareth Lewis, University of Leicester

The problem of young people’s disaffection with school mathematics is unsustainable in economic, social and personal terms. Disaffection with school mathematics is a key factor determining low attainment and disengagement, contributing to a lack of progression and participation in mathematics in post-compulsory education. In this way, large numbers of young people are ‘lost’ to mathematics. Too many young people are leaving education without the competence in mathematics that they require for a successful career, as well as familial and personal competences. This leads to a need to understand more deeply how and why young people become disaffected with school mathematics. It also leads us to question whether or in what ways pedagogy and teaching practice can be adjusted to prevent or remediate levels of disaffection with school mathematics.

This lecture will look at the evidence of the incidence of disaffection, and the importance of affect in learning or not learning mathematics. It presents some results from a study of disaffection with school mathematics amongst pupils and students aged 14 – 18. The study examined the notion of disaffection from the perspective of student voice, and young peoples’ subjective experience of being disaffected with mathematics. Some interesting and unexpected results emerged and these will presented. The talk will take a practical approach to considering implications for teachers and for practice.

Dr Gareth Lewis is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leicester. He taught secondary mathematics in local schools for 10 years. After leaving teaching and working in the commercial world of organisational and employee research and development, he returned to education to undertake his doctoral study at Leicester.