| Abstract: | This paper focuses on a systematic review of studies on the impact of the pedagogy of the National Numeracy Strategy (England) on primary school pupils’ confidence and competence. Findings from the review are that gains in competence may be a result of the specification of the curriculum rather than changes in pedagogy, that interactive whole class teaching as envisioned has not been fully realised, and that low attaining pupils may be disadvantaged by the way in which whole class teaching is being interpreted. In conducting the review there were some tensions involved in judging the reliability, validity and generalisability of the findings of the included papers, and in judging the weight of evidence in terms of the review question. This paper will address these tensions, describe this particular review process and discuss the findings. |
