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Maximising Opportunities in Mathematics for All Students: Addressing Within-School and Within-Class Differences

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Diversity in Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Mathematics Education Library ((MELI))

Abstract

Ongoing improvement in teaching and learning in ways that maximise opportunities for success for all students is dependent on a range of factors: a well-structured, relevant and balanced curriculum; school-based decisions on ways of addressing diversity; sustainable approaches to teaching improvement; access to high-quality resources that facilitate engagement of learners; policy frameworks that foster improvement rather than compliance; and commitment from schools to engage with the parents and communities they serve. Focusing on the first two of these, this chapter argues that to address differences in access, there is a pressing need to explore approaches to teaching that maximise opportunities, irrespective of grouping practices. It is possible that some types of schools, and grouping within schools, exacerbate differences and reduce opportunities for some students. Findings are reported that suggest that ability grouping has minimal effect on learning outcomes overall but exacerbates inequality in outcomes. Yet it also seems that awareness of the potential threats in particular grouping practices helps to minimise those threats. Further, it is noted that all groups are mixed in levels of preparedness, and so pedagogies need to accommodate diversity. A particular lesson that exemplifies one possible approach to mixed ability teaching is presented.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

    Peter Sullivan

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  1. Peter Sullivan
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Correspondence to Peter Sullivan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Alan Bishop

  2. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Hazel Tan

  3. School of Education, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

    Tasos N Barkatsas

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Sullivan, P. (2015). Maximising Opportunities in Mathematics for All Students: Addressing Within-School and Within-Class Differences. In: Bishop, A., Tan, H., Barkatsas, T. (eds) Diversity in Mathematics Education. Mathematics Education Library. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05978-5_14

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