Teachers’ perspectives on teaching and learning mathematics at the transition from primary to second-level: considerations for professional development

The transition from primary to second-level marks a significant educational milestone in the lives of students. Evaluations of academic achievement following this transition have identified a subsequent decline in performance across a range of subject areas, with mathematics being one of the most negatively impacted. This comparative questionnaire study of 471 teachers from the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and 205 from Northern Ireland (NI) garnered insights into the perceived challenges of teaching and learning mathematics at this key period of transition and identified considerations for professional development (PD). Broad findings revealed that PD would need to focus on curriculum and pedagogical practices at both levels to ensure continuity of learning experience. Primary teachers reported a lack of knowledge of the content that students engage with in second-level (54.1% RoI; 64.8% NI) and even higher levels of lack of pedagogical knowledge (72.4% RoI; 70.3% NI). Second-level teachers also reported high levels of unfamiliarity of teaching practices employed in primary school (76.3% RoI; 50.6% NI). More specifically, in both jurisdictions, primary teachers were statistically not as Highly Confident in teaching Algebra as Number (p < .001) with Algebra identified by second-level teachers as an area that students are particularly underprepared in (91.2% RoI; 83.8% NI). Furthermore, primary teachers in RoI were statistically not as Highly Confident in teaching Shape and space (p < .001), and Measures (p < .05), as Number. Teachers reported that effective PD would provide adequate time for collaboration between teachers at both levels and focus specifically on managing the transition in mathematics education. The findings of this research are pertinent given the publication of a new Primary Mathematics Curriculum in the RoI and the implications for PD programs to enable teachers to enact this new curriculum in their classrooms from September 2024.