Studies on Regional and National Reform Initiatives as a Means to Improve Mathematics Teaching and Learning at Scale

Abstract

The chapter considers four examples of large-scale projects involving national reform initiatives in mathematics drawn from four continents - Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. Poor student performance on international and/or national assessment programmes was, in part, a catalyst for each programme. The underlying issue driving each of these studies was the perceived importance of improved student learning outcomes in mathematics and science in these countries. All the projects focus on initiating purposeful pedagogic change through involving teachers in rich professional learning experiences. The primary purpose of this chapter is two-fold First, a brief description is provided of each project in order to give an insight into different countries' efforts to improve teaching and learning at scale. Second, an analysis and discussion of common features are undertaken leading to lessons learned.