Information for higher cohort study research participants
The Higher Cohort Study is ambitious research programme of the Observatory for Mathematical Education, that seeks to understand the choices students make in Year 12 and 13 about university; the reasons behind successful (and less successful) transitions to university; and how student progress through the undergraduate and postgraduate phase is shaped.
Unlike primary and secondary education where the curriculum and assessment fit within a national framework, the higher education landscape is a much more complicated web with a variety of level 3 qualifications leading to multiple options for single and joint honours maths degrees. The student experience of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment will very much depend on which institution they attend, with some departments focussing on world-leading mathematical research while others are dedicated to teaching and learning. By analysing student participation and attainment alongside student attitudes to maths across the sector we will unpick the factors causing some students to excel while others fall behind.
By becoming part of the Higher Cohort Study, you will be helping to ensure that the data that is collected, and the analyses undertaken, can generate the best possible insights about student experiences of learning mathematics at university in England. We would like every maths department in England to be involved. Our detailed work with universities will start in 2025/26, but before then there will be opportunities to:
- Inform the Observatory team about developments, successes and challenges in university mathematics education.
- Advise on the design of the research methods (e.g. survey questions) in the Higher Cohort Study.
- Advise on the operational challenges related to the Higher Cohort Study.
- Receive reports and comment on the analysis of the data from the Higher Cohort Study.
In addition to HESA data and national surveys, a small number of institutions will be invited to become case studies. This will involve a small number of visits to the university each year by members of the Observatory team. These visits will include interviews with staff (e.g. Head of Department, Director of Teaching, course leads and lecturers of mathematics) and students and, where possible, the observation of teaching. The case studies will explore some aspects of mathematics teaching and learning in more depth than is possible in surveys, including the reasons why lecturers and leaders make the decisions that they do about mathematics education.
Engaging in ground-breaking research can be highly rewarding, and sector leaders report that they are eagerly anticipating the publication of the Observatory’s annual reports as this will provide them with evidence about university mathematics education in England that will inform their thinking. In the meantime, if you have any questions then please to not hesitate to get in touch with the Observatory team.
A dedicated post-16 only ‘college’ cohort is running alongside the secondary cohort in 2024-25 and 2025-26. The following sections contain information about the college cohort study for lead teachers, teachers, college administrators, students and parents/guardians. Click on the sections to learn more.
Information for lead teachers
The lead teacher is responsible for coordinating the research partner school’s participation in the cohort study. They are the primary point of contact.
In this section you will find documents with information about this year’s research cycle.
As the lead teacher, we will:
- Contact you about upcoming research activities
- Ask you to complete a staff audit at the start of the cycle
- Ask you to support your colleagues to help students complete the Year 13 A level Mathematics pupil surveys
- Ask you to encourage your Year 13 A level Mathematics teachers to complete the teacher survey
- Share our research findings with you
Information for Year 13 teachers
This cycle, your Year 13 A level Mathematics students will be invited to complete an online survey about their experiences of and attitudes to learning mathematics. We will send you the survey link to share with your students and full instructions.
Thank you for supporting the completion of pupil surveys for your class. To help us understand the wider picture of mathematics learning at your school, we will be inviting you to take part in a short online survey about your pedagogical approaches to teaching Year 13. For more information about the Year 13 pedagogy survey, please read the documents in this section.
Information about the pupil survey for Year 13 teachers (coming soon)
These documents provide more information about the teacher pedagogy survey:
Participant information sheet for Year 13 pedagogy survey (coming soon)
Consent statements for Year 13 pedagogy survey (coming soon)
Information for Year 13 students
You and the other students in your Year 13 A level mathematics class have been invited to take part in a short online survey about your mathematics learning.
Key information:
- The survey asks questions about your experience of and attitude to learning maths. It does not test your mathematical ability.
- It is your choice whether you consent to participating in the survey.
- You can stop the survey at any time.
- Make sure you press submit at the end to record your answers.
- You can withdraw your participation at a later date.
For more information about the Year 13 pupil survey, please read the documents in this section.
Participant information sheet for Year 13 pupil survey (coming soon)
Consent statements for Year 13 pupil survey (coming soon)
Information for parents/guardians
You will receive a letter from your child's school later in the year with information about the pupil survey.
Below you will find the answers to some frequently asked questions.
What is the Observatory for Mathematical Education?
The Observatory is a research centre based at the University of Nottingham with a focus on mathematics education in England. We received funding in November 2023 to establish the Observatory and to deliver our main piece of work, the cohort studies. Our aim is to improve mathematics education for children in the future.
What is the college cohort study?
Starting in 2024, the college cohort study follows one cohort of pupils from Year 12 to Year 13 in a representative sample of state-funded sixth form colleges in England. Each year, pupils and their teachers will be surveyed to find out about their mathematics learning and teaching. We will use this information to build a picture of maths education in England and use this information to inform future policy and practice.
What are you asking my Year 13 child to do?
All children in your child’s Year 13 A level Mathematics class are being invited to complete a short online survey about their mathematics learning. Once all children have completed the survey, the answers will be sent back to us and pseudonymised, so your child's responses cannot be identified. Your child's answers will not be shown to anyone at the school. The survey does not assess your child's mathematical ability or ask them any maths problems. Your child can stop at any time and choose not to answer some or all questions if they do not want to.
What will you do with the results from the surveys?
The results of the surveys will be pseudonymised and then analysed for trends. The pseudonymisation process involves removing any information that could personally identify an individual's responses, for example, their name. We replace this with a unique code, so that if a participant withdraws at a later date, we can remove their data from our dataset.
Information about the Year 13 pupil survey for parents/guardians (coming soon)
Privacy notice for research participants