Evaluation of GCSE Maths Curriculum Development and Educational Policies in the UK

This article discusses the GCSE Maths curriculum development and its application in different types of UK secondary schools. It also evaluates the factors influencing the education system, such as economical, social, cultural, historical, political, language, religious, and technological factors. Additionally, it provides a comparative analysis of educational policies and opportunities in the UK and other countries.

Table of Contents
Task-1: Evaluation of the GCSE Maths curriculum development applied to different types of UK
secondary schools..................................................................................................................................2
Task -2 Evaluations of factors influences on system of education.........................................................4
Part-3: A comparative analysis of educational policy and opportunity in the UK and the relationship
compared with that of other countries...................................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................11
Appendices..........................................................................................................................................13
Appendix 1: GCSE mathematics syllabi................................................................................................13
1

Task-1: Evaluation of the GCSE Maths curriculum development applied to
different types of UK secondary schools.
Introduction
Mathematics is the base of all subjects .Students need to learn mathematics before entering to
the graduate level. In undergraduate programmes there are various subjects that are included
within their course, these are – Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Biological sciences,
Computer science, Materials sciences and other aspects of mathematics. Mathematics is
included in a considerable number of pre higher educations. But in case of Higher education
mathematical method, process contents are not so mandatory for study. Sound mathematical
knowledge is the backbone of Engineering, Information and Computer Sciences, Bioscience,
Economics, Materials and physical sciences etc. So, students should focus on mathematical
studies in pre higher education. Discussing on the said topic, the assignment holds relevance
in deciphering the facts of certain developmental patterns with respect to mathematical
curriculum in the GCSE level and to what extent the fresher in the UK schools are
knowledgeable about the said subject and its allied associates (Hayes, 2017).
Pre Higher education qualification and Study
A new GCSE mathematics was first introduced in September 2015. The three primary
pathways that guide an individual towards higher education and academics are diplomas,
apprenticeships and general qualifications. Candidates aged 16 years of age fall under the
umbrella of GCSE educational curricula while those who have completed this course and are
18 years of age, may initiate their GCE A level of academics. The first year of the GCE A
level is termed as AS level and the following year as the A2 level. AS and A2 together
complete full A level qualification. In some apprenticeships paid work courses mathematical
qualification is do not required (Jones et al 2015).
In diploma course, students learn both classroom work and practical lab experiences as well.
This Diploma course requires basic knowledge of functional mathematics.
In General qualifications mathematics provides the evidence of attainment in mathematics
which is necessary for the education. The most probable learning impact, style of assessment
and the subject content are important for general qualification in mathematics. General
qualification is subdivided into GCSE and FSMQ (Entwistle, 2015). The government’s has
2

taken responsibility to encourage almost half of the total student population aged 18-30 years
for attending higher level academics, because they need GCSE and A level mathematical
qualification. GCSE examinations have substituted the need of acquiring the prior expertise
of solving O level mathematical problems. This has enabled the students to get a hold on to a
wide range of mathematical problems and showcase their expertise in the said field. GCSE
subject in the UK schools had been known to provide a wide range of opportunistic expertise
to the registered candidates with respect to knowledge gain, understanding, reasoning,
application and skills based decision making and aptitudes. Mathematics in the GCSE
curricula are emphasized on a deep-seated basis and the students are provided with course
aspects and attributes with respect to key stages 3 and 4 respectively. This course enables the
students to understand the myriad of mathematics and reveal its dimension in an all new level
and relates the significance of this subject to their own life and allied social perspectives. This
curriculum also provides a profound platform for those who are willing to pursue a happening
career in near future with mathematics (Toplis, 2015).
GCSE specification of mathematics enables students to:
Acquire mathematical knowledge and apply mathematical techniques to solve problems.
Develop skills, aptitude, reasoning ability and understanding of techniques and methods
associated with mathematics. Attain effective expertise in order to relay several mathematical
based information in multi-various forms. It also helps to make a logical conclusion on any
topic.
Subjects contents
The assessment goals and objectives are being efficiently fulfilled by GCSE specifications in
mathematics and the curriculum strictly follows the mission being established. The
curriculum is framed up in such a way that the GCSE candidates receive the optimum
education and knowledge with respect to mathematical contextualization. Students get
confidence when they are flexible to solve any problem.
The Expectation of GCSE is that –
Every individual student shall be assessed on the basis of curriculum understanding and the
level of knowledge being attained so far and those who had been receiving high accolades
and rewards in the class evaluations, they are deemed established in the lesson outcome. Out
of these students, a specific student may be selected and evaluated with respect to high bold
3

type course content in order to further analyze his/her manoeuvres. With respect to this, the
highest award winning students may gain enough confidence in the bold contents.
CGSE mathematics chapters includes a range of topics under which several sub-topics and
contents get enlisted that help in envisioning the candidates’ information and knowledge
portal in mathematical forum (Appendix 1).
The subject criteria that are withheld by the GCSE curriculum hold relevance in deciphering
the understanding capability of the students with respect to all GCSE enlisted subjects and
their allied contents. This organization provides a full-fledged framework to all the registered
academic institutions so that they may create their subject oriented detail and specifications in
order to provide a deep seated study level to the students. Mathematics is of utmost necessity
in day-to-day life and hence, gaining enough confidence, evidence based knowledge and
practical application based skills is integral for every individual student.
Task -2 Evaluations of factors influences on system of education.
Any national educational system that is conventional incorporates academics and curricula
starting from basic education system to upgraded higher standard education and academics
including university curriculum as well. This entire education system is integral and
influential for any student for shaping up their knowledge base. Every educational system has
got system and functionalities that evaluate the knowledge base of its students and the extent
of impact that the curriculum is going to infer on their daily livelihood and career.
Nationalism and the formal education system of any country reflect the nationalized factorials
of that specific nation and these are closely associated with each other. These factors are
important in studying the comparative educational ergonomics between countries and they
include economic, historical, and religious, language based, demographical, social,
technological and cultural aspects (Keating, 2014).
Economical factors –
The financial condition of a nation reflects its educational scenario and also determines the
curriculum of the nationalized education system. Formal education is important where
production is higher than consumption. Local people education is mainly depend on their
economical condition and needs of the community. Economical condition is directly
proportional to the education system. In many cases, the educational system of the nation is
4

directly proportional with the financial stature of the country, that is, weak economy lowers
education system whereas stable economy helps raising it. The educational system in USA
and Japan has been markedly influential from the aspects that students are encouraged to
graduate from esteemed universities so that they may pursue their career with bright future.
But in India, there is no proper guideline for a student so that they become confuse after
passing college or university (Blais et,al 2015). They post pone their carrier for a few years.
That’s why unemployment problem is increasing day by day in India. Due to the different
economical background children from rich class get chance to study in international school,
where as poor people can’t afford that much of money for their children carrier. In
developing countries the lack of funds adversely affect the salary scale of academicians, the
availability of educational resources such as text books and other allied value added products
which are difficult to ascertain giving rise to lack of education. So the national system of
education may vary on the strength of country’s economy (Holland, 2016).
Social and cultural factors
Education and sustainability is highly important in deciphering the developmental pattern of
the nationalized education system that acts as the driving force. A stable cultural background
always has a good number of literate populations with considerable amount of educational
background that delivers a harmonious balance in the society. In every society people want to
get acquainted with educational system. Through education they try to preserve and protect
their traditions and aspirations and ethics. The social patterns of the citizens and their way of
communication always reflect their extent of literacy level. Their social patterns in any
particular community reflect in their system of education.
The academicians are now more interested in emphasizing on their pay scale instead of
focusing on the education system and the way of teaching. In most of the teacher oriented
meetings, the academicians are more interested in driving internal politics and salary
negotiation instead of focusing on students’ welfare. On the contrary, guardians and students
cease to respect the academic staffs. Currently, the inter relations between all the individuals
in the family are changing constantly. As a result, the elements of cultural sustainability are
changing and so is the education system of the country.
The other perspectives of mitigating socio-cultural aspects of the country is the way of
changing the educational system of the country which shall demarcate the rationalism in the
inhabitants and enable them to think in a positive way. It is quite important to develop
5

enough respect against someone which shall reflect the extent of cultural and educational
background richness pertinent on the individual under context. This indirectly reflects the
country’s education system. Nations are generally multi ethnic and diverse in nature but the
educational background and the extent of knowledge pertinence should be balanced. So it is
very much needed to inculcate love for nation and national education system (Mohammadi,
2015).
Historical factors
Every individual nation has its own geographical importance, nationalized integrity, historical
perspectives and importance and other culturally dominant attributes which emphasize the
aims and objectives of the educational system of that very country. Many countries had been
colonised in the initial stage of their freedom and this had resulted in either heightened or
decelerating responsiveness on their educational system since time immemorial. Many
countries of Asia, Africa, North and South America are still under colonialism. Hence, it
plays a great role in shaping the education system of the nations.
There is some other factors likes’ political factor, language factor, Religious factor and
technological factor.
In Modern day education has been changed .variety of technology, computers, projectors,
internet, and many latest devices have made education system very student friendly. They are
acquiring diverse knowledge from different aspects. Science and new technology has been
made their life easier. New inventions and discoveries have revealed the unknown world to
them more easily .once a new aspect is discovered students are getting those topics by surfing
internet. Students are finding their area of interest through modern education that is helpful to
reach their goals more easily. Skill-development and vocational education are the new scope
for the students .So modern system of education gives a new way to the students. They are
getting new option, new subjects and finding interest on education .So the modern system of
education increases their interest on study (Evans, 2017).
Part-3: A comparative analysis of educational policy and opportunity in the
UK and the relationship compared with that of other countries.
6

Education is significant for maintaining social policy, and this does not get restricted only to
the welfare system of the society but also extenuates till structural integrity of the scoeity as a
whole (Ball, 2017). The aims of education include-
Liberal education: intellectual and social development of each individual makes a person
complete.
Socialisation: By means of education, any individual gets the capability of socialising with
others with good behaviours and practices, sometimes looked upon as a form of socialisable
control measures.
Education as a handmaiden: Proper education also facilitates the enhancement of the
industrial and development sector of the nation thereby making is advanced from various
aspects.
Social change: education system has bought social changes in the country.
Students receive a large number of policies and prolific outcome from gaining effective
education. Hence, it has been deemed capable in the justification of welfare measures with
respect to educational norms and standards.
Education policy in UK
England in the year 1870 started its very first free of cost elementary education. In addition,
the Education Act of 1944 introduced free paid secondary education that remained free of
cost till 1944. All these free education system were literally implemented in order to bestow
an equally available education system for all classes of people in the society. The education
system at that time was mainly based on a tripartite framework that incorporated
technological, grammatical and secondary modernized standards but unfortunately fewer
schools implemented this system which meant that most institutions were bipartite in nature.
Grammatical implementation was sele3ctive whilst secondary modern was very rare.
Sequentially, comprehensive style education was being implemented in the society but this
system gained implication only after the policy making in 1960. Controversies arose on the
fact that this style of education concomitantly reduced the likelihood of discrimination in the
educational grounds. It had been stated that students or individuals who visited grammar
7

schools were more imperative and assertive with respect to knowledge gaining compared to
those visiting comprehensive schools.
Primary Education
Primary education in Britain was for the students whose age lies between 4 to 12 .Although
in some areas parents transferred their children to middle schools at an earlier age (such as
8/9).In primary level they learned basic skills which are - the "3 Rs" of Reading, writing and
arithmetic as well as some social developmental skills. It had been portrayed by several
critique reviewers in the late 1970s that most of the educational system selections were not
influential from the aspects of gaining knowledge (Ballantine, et al. 2017). An Institution
should incorporate new technique and tool for study..To avoid these problems they
established new principles and reformed the schooling system
The new four trends were as follows-
 Centralisation: The UK government that was seen to be conservative and stringent
spanning from 1980-90s pioneered nationalized evaluation system and for the very
first time, the education board came under a nationalized and unified agency and the
authority was shifted from school to the government.
 Assessment by outcomes: Evaluation patterns incorporated a number of steps such as
targets, outcomes, and performance criteria and the procedure of education. This
showcased the general profile of the government’s initiative on education.
 The use of "initiatives”: Pioneering or initiative from government’s end has high
influence on the education system of the nation as it enables the agencies to provide
enough funding for the betterment of the sector although several controversies had
crept in with respect to “initiative overload”.
 Changing who controls schools: A considerable extent of effort had been shelved out
for the sake of the government bodies trying to amend policies with respect to control
shifting from schools to government so that the entire authority gets bestowed on to
the government solely.
When the education system of UK is compared to US, many differentiations have been
found. First comes the time span, graduation level (BA) takes 3 years UK while in US it takes
a year more. Same for masters level (MA), US takes one year more than UK; It takes one
8

year in UK, whereas 2 years in US. For PhD a student in UK will take 3 years, but in US,
students can take 5 to 7 years and sometimes more than that (Hewitt-Dundas and Roper,
2018). From this no conclusion can be drawn as if the syllabus is a compact one and properly
structured, then it might take lesser time to complete a course. In case of Asian countries,
Indian course of BA is of 3 years, whereas Chinese BA course can be of 3 or 4 years
depending upon the specialized subject.
Cost is a crucial variable of the education system of a particular country. With more number
of students opting for foreign universities, cost is the major factor around which the system
revolves. When compared to cost effective education system, study cost in US is higher than
study cost in UK. UK is having a moderate cost on education, enabling more foreign students
opting for it. The study cost in Asian countries is relatively lower than that of the European
and American countries. To be very precise, lesser cost does not imply a lower quality
education.
In US, grades are based on overall performance throughout the year, whereas in UK, it is
based on the performance of the final exam only. China follows a rank oriented grading
system, whereas in India the grading is based on the overall performance of a student
throughout the year. Grading system is critical and can vary from region to region (Holland,
2016). Both in US and UK, semester system is being implemented in most of the schools,
whereas some are exception enough to use trimester or quarterly semester system. In US,
universities are divided into schools often by subject; while in UK, university is typically an
umbrella organisation for different independent colleges.
US is superior than UK in the sector of education style. In US, education style is more varied,
comprising of liberal arts and the facility of studying outside one’s major. But in UK it is
only limited in classroom education. For athletes US might be better than UK to study as
athletic scholarships are there in US, but not in UK (King and Sondhi, 2018). For Asian
countries, the scenario is mixed as well; in India the scholarship facility for athletes is
available in a few schools, while in Chinese schools, athletic scholarship is of much
importance.
In US, students get dormitories with roommate whereas UK students generally get
dormitories without roommate. Off-campus housing is basically available for students in UK,
whereas in US it is occasionally available. Thus, it is found that education system in UK is
9

different than other countries in so many aspects. Not just on the basis of country, but also on
the basis of continent, education system differs.
Conclusion
The education system in UK has evolved greatly over the years. From making it cost efficient
to effective for the students coming from all over the globe, the country has witnessed
remarkable improvement in the education sector. The number of foreign students enrolling in
schools and universities in UK are increasing each year. From the course framework to
structure of university, everything is satisfying for the students. Mathematics, being a terror
for most of the students, is also gaining greater scope to expand itself and become more
relatable to students with the help of effective study method. Thus, it can be assessed that
students are opting for courses which not only benefits their academics, but also develops
their understanding regarding the subject in a well-structured way.
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References
Hayes, D., 2017. An analysis and evaluation of a maths curriculum leading to a proposal for
an innovation to this curriculum. The STeP Journal: Student Teacher Perspectives, 4(2),
pp.79-89.
Jones, I., Swan, M. and Pollitt, A., 2015. Assessing mathematical problem solving using
comparative judgement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(1),
pp.151-177.
Entwistle, N. ed., 2015. Handbook of Educational Ideas and Practices (Routledge Revivals).
Routledge.
Toplis, R. ed., 2015. Learning to teach science in the secondary school: A companion to
school experience. Routledge.
Roberts, N. and Bolton, P., 2016. House of Commons Library: Briefing paper: Number
07846, 22 December 2016: Changes to school accountability and'league tables' in England in
2016.
Keating, S.B., 2014. Curriculum development and evaluation in nursing. Springer Publishing
Company.
Blais, K., Hayes, J.S., Kozier, B. and Erb, G.L., 2015. Professional nursing practice:
Concepts and perspectives (p. 530). NJ: Prentice Hall.
Holland, B.A., 2016. Factors and strategies that influence faculty involvement in public
service. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 20(1), pp.63-72.
Mohammadi, H., 2015. Investigating users’ perspectives on e-learning: An integration of
TAM and IS success model. Computer
Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower
handbook of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.
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Evans, M., 2017. Understanding policy transfer. In Policy transfer in global perspective (pp.
10-42). Routledge.
Ball, S.J., 2017. The education debate. Policy Press.
Ballantine, J.H., Hammack, F.M. and Stuber, J., 2017. The sociology of education: A
systematic analysis. Routledge.
Hewitt-Dundas, N. and Roper, S., 2018. Innovation in UK higher education: A panel data
analysis of undergraduate degree programmes. Research Policy, 47(1), pp.121-138.
King, R. and Sondhi, G., 2018. International student migration: a comparison of UK and
Indian students’ motivations for studying abroad. Globalisation, Societies and
Education, 16(2), pp.176-191.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: GCSE mathematics syllabi
Algebr
a
Expo
nenti
al
and
logar
ithm
Co-
ordin
ate
geom
etry
Para
metr
ic
equa
tions
Vect
ors
Nu
mer
ical
met
hod
s
Trigon
ometry
Sequenc
e &
Series
Curv
e
sketc
hing
Func
tions
Calcu
lus
Simult
aneous
equatio
ns,
Solvin
g
quadrat
ics,
comple
tion of
square
,
Surds/i
ndices,
Logarit
hms,
Inequal
ities
(only
involvi
ng
linear
and
quadrat
ic
express
ions,
and the
modulu
s
functio
n),
Polyno
mials
(factor/
Grap
hs,
stand
ard
prope
rties,
use
in
solvi
ng
equat
ions
Equat
ions
of
straig
ht
lines,
gradi
ent
Parall
el and
perpe
ndicu
lar
lines,
Equat
ion of
a
circle
,
Circl
e
theor
ems
Findi
ng
gradi
ents,
Con
versi
on
from
Cart
esian
para
metri
c
equa
tions
Scal
ar
prod
uct,
Equa
tions
of
lines
,
Inter
secti
on of
lines
Root
by
Sign
chan
ge,
fixe
d
poin
t
inter
actio
n
Sine
rule,
cosine
rule,
Radians
, arc
length,
sector
area.
Exact
values
of sin,
cos, tan
of
standar
d
angles,
Compo
und/dou
ble
angle
formula
Arithmet
ic/
geometri
c
sequence
s/series,
Sigma
notation,
Sequenc
es
defined
recursive
ly
Grap
hs of
quadr
atics,
polyn
omial
s
(from
the
factor
ised
form)
,
Relati
onshi
ps
betwe
en
graph
s of y
=
f(x),
y =
f(x +
a), y
=
f(ax)
Com
positi
on,
Inver
ses,
calcul
ating
inver
ses,
even,
odd,
perio
dic
functi
ons,
Modu
lus
functi
on,
Inver
se
trig
functi
on
Differ
entiati
on of
power
s of x,
ex , ln
x, sin
x, cos
x, tan
x ,
Produ
ct
rule,
quotie
nt rule
Chain
rule,
Integr
ation
by
inspec
tion,
Integr
ation
by
substit
ution(
simpl
e
cases
only) ,
Integr
ation
by
parts,
13

remain
der
theore
ms),
Binomi
al
expansi
on,
Partial
Fractio
ns
Differ
ential
equati
ons
(to
includ
e only
variab
les
which
are
separa
ble),
Implic
it
differ
entiati
on,
Volu
mes
of
revolu
tion
14