National Curriculum

The National Curriculum (2013) emphasises that children should ‘solve problems in familiar practical contexts’ and that ‘high-quality mathematics…provides a foundation for understanding the world’. Haylock and Thangata (2007) define a meaningful context as one in which encompasses the child’s everyday experience but is also embedded in mathematics, which they know what the task is about and they can be actively involved. A realistic use of context is one where students are given real situations that need mathematical analysis, for which they do need to consider the variables, rather than ignore them (Boaler, 2009). The contexts in which mathematics is studied play an important role in helping students understand not only how, when and why particular …show more content…
Motivation is higher when the data is collected by the children themselves, higher still when it is collected to answer some questions they have posed themselves and even higher when it is about themselves (Haylock and Manning, 2015). Haylock and Thangata (2007) identify play as an appropriate context for learning mathematics, especially for young children. They suggest that mathematical play can help children to begin to develop concepts in an intuitive way that they will meet more formally later on in school. Many children engage in pretend play, such as shopping, cooking or a toy shopping till. They therefore come to school with a variety of mathematical experiences, often gained through play. Play therefore provides a meaningful link between home and school. They can repeat these actions and develop skills at their own …show more content…
However, Sparrow (2008) highlights that one of the main issues with trying to plan for work that is of interest or relevance to children is no easy thing as interests change quickly. Similarly, Nicol and Crespo’s (2005) research has signified that what is considered real and meaningful for some children may not be for all children. For many children, the mathematics of the classroom has no obvious connection to the mathematics of their world. The two are separated and unconnected. The mathematics of the classroom, it appears, is not relevant for a large number of primary aged children (Sparrow, 2008). Maier (1991) revealed that children did not perceive the mathematics activities they learnt in school as ‘real’, more that they were given a real world ‘veneer’. Pound and Lee (2010) provide a possible solution, suggesting the use of stories as a possible context for mathematics as they state the human mind loves story and can cope with complex and abstract ideas in stories, because the context is