Beyond Access: Widening Participation and Reducing Inequalities in Mathematics Education, Experience and Outcomes
Project supervisor: Dr Ellis Ryan
Project Overview
The project could investigate how socioeconomic background, institutional context, pedagogical practices and learner characteristics interact to shape participation and outcomes in mathematics education. Particular attention could be given to learners who remain underrepresented or disadvantaged in mathematics pathways, including students from low-income backgrounds, rural and geographically isolated communities, students with disabilities, mature and first-generation learners, and groups experiencing structural barriers to participation.
The project could also examine mathematics anxiety, mathematical confidence, self-efficacy, identity and resilience as potential mechanisms through which structural inequalities influence participation and achievement. This would enable the research to move beyond documenting attainment gaps towards understanding why such gaps emerge and identifying interventions capable of reducing them.
Research Questions
The project will address questions such as:
- Which social, economic, geographical, institutional and pedagogical factors influence access to and participation in mathematics education?
- Why do inequalities in mathematics participation, attainment and progression persist after learners have gained access to education?
- How do learners from different backgrounds experience mathematics teaching, assessment, classroom participation, belonging and support?
- How do mathematics anxiety, self-efficacy, confidence, identity and resilience influence learners' participation and achievement, particularly among groups experiencing educational disadvantage?
- How do teacher expectations, pedagogical approaches, curriculum structures and institutional cultures contribute to or mitigate inequalities in mathematics education?
- Which widening-participation and mathematics education interventions are most effective, for whom and under what conditions?
- How can educational institutions design more inclusive mathematics learning environments that improve participation, attainment, progression and longer-term educational outcomes?