Teacher expectations are known to have a powerful influence on
student attainment. In relation to mathematics the implications
of attainment are particularly significant given its prominence
in pre-requisites for study leading to economically rewarding
vocational pathways and high status academic qualifications.
Mathematics teachers’ expectations of and consequent decisions
about appropriate curricula and teaching approaches, therefore,
have important implications for students’ options and
opportunities. In the current national context in which equity
and participation in higher education agendas are prominent –
for example in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals
for Young Australians, and the Bradley Review of Higher
Education – these issues are of importance beyond their
implications for individuals. In addition, there are
increasingly urgent calls for action to reverse the alarming
decline in student enrolments in high level mathematics beyond
the compulsory years; a trend recognised as having se