Nathan Hoon, Lucy Ellis and Angela Hopkins—The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned to evaluate the Middle Years Programme (MYP) mathematics skills framework as part of the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) curriculum review of MYP mathematics. This study aimed to inform the review cycle through a curriculum comparison with other systems from around the world and an examination of the implementation of the MYP mathematics skills framework. Four main research activities were carried out: a curriculum comparison, an expert panel discussion, a practitioner questionnaire, and practitioner interviews. Overall, while there are some areas for possible improvement, the authors conclude that the MYP mathematics skills framework is broadly fit-for-purpose. A key difference between the MYP and several of the other systems is that the MYP does not provide specific or suggested year-by-year content, but allows schools to structure this themselves. The practitioner questionnaire indicated predominantly positive feedback about the MYP mathematics skills framework, although there were some concerns about the level of planning support available to teachers within the MYP’s flexible curriculum framework, and whether certain topics in the framework were overly ambitious. Lastly, practitioners generally felt that the content in both the standard and extended level guidance prepare learners well for Diploma Programme (DP) studies.
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