Developing a National Framework for Adults' Mathematics Education in Ireland: A Pilot Study

The newly constituted further education sector in Ireland was developed by the National Council for Vocational Awards. The mathematics for this sector was introduced as Mathematical Methods Level 2 on a pilot basis. The standard module's level proved to be too high, based on high failure rates. A review of the mathematics provision initiated these two approaches to deal with the problem: a short term strategy to modify the existing test procedure and a long term strategy to develop a new module as part of a proposed three-level mathematics framework. Practitioners were surveyed for the review process and the demographics of the test takers were examined. This survey showed that the revised module should have a vocational thrust, there was too much or inappropriate assessment previously, and the standard should change delivery in the classroom. A workshop was held to review the draft modules and a pilot study was performed on the revised drafts. Additional revisions were made based on pilot results. The new modules were an improvement, had new material for all learners, and had assignments that learners liked. The vocational approach was interesting to learners, and some concerns about one module still lingered. (Contains 6 references.)(SLR)