Introduction

Existing findings on the quantum of time allocated to mathematics

Time allocated to mathematics outside of in-class time

Conceptual framework

Methodology

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Abstract

The quantum of instruction time allocated to curriculum subjects such as mathematics facilitates greater exposure to knowledge and skill development, leading to higher levels of achievement. There are a number of manifestations of time to consider when investigating the quantum of time in mathematics education. The OECD have investigated the time allocated to mathematics by schools internationally, while also reporting on the prevalence of private tuition and time spent on homework. However, to date, no attention has been afforded to the provision of ‘hidden curriculum time’ for mathematics. This study seeks to advance the work of the OECD and describes a case study that sought to ascertain if teachers in Ireland provide additional mathematics lessons outside of school hours. The authors examined how prevalent this practice is, how many additional minutes some students receive as a result of this practice and ascertained teachers’ reasons for providing/not providing these additional mathematics classes. The results from this case study show that the majority of teachers at Senior Cycle provide these classes while a large proportion of Junior Cycle teachers also do. In extreme cases, these additional classes expose students to an additional 88.3 h of mathematics over the two-year Senior Cycle programme.

Introduction

A large body of literature demonstrates strong, positive correlations between instruction time and student achievement (Benavot & Amadi, 2004). The work of Carroll (1989) indicates that academic achievement is dependent on variables representing the amount of time available to learn, the time needed to learn and the time a student is willing to spend learning. Research shows that the more time students are engaged in learning, on average, the higher their grades (Clark & Linn, 2003; Harn, Thompson, & Roberts, 2008). However, any study that seeks to investigate the quantum of time must consider four manifestations of time, namely scheduled in-class time; out of class ‘hidden’ time; homework time and time spent in private tuition. This was the theoretical underpinning of this study, as depicted in Figure 1. Internationally, many studies have investigated scheduled in class time, homework time and time spent in private tuition (OECD, 2014; Eurydice Network, 2014; Prendergast & O’Meara, 2016b) and some findings from these studies are presented in this article. The motivation for this study came from the desire to build on these international studies by conducting a large-scale case study into the quantum of time allocated to mathematics in Ireland and this article reports on one aspect of this investigation, namely the ‘hidden’ curriculum time.