Does the ‘Boost for Mathematics’ Boost Mathematics? A Large-Scale Evaluation of the ‘Lesson Study’ Methodology on Student Performance

Erik Grönqvist (), Björn Öckert () and Olof Rosenqvist ()
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Erik Grönqvist: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Björn Öckert: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Olof Rosenqvist: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

No 2021:22, Working Paper Series from IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

Abstract: Students in East-Asian countries consistently score in the top in international assessments. One possible explanation for this success is their use of ‘Lesson study’ to enhance teaching practices, but evidence on its effectiveness is still scant. We evaluate a national teacher development pro-gram in Sweden – the ‘Boost for Mathematics’ – containing core elements of Lesson study, in-cluding weekly peer group meetings with an external tutor for an entire academic year. Exploiting the gradual roll-out of the program across compulsory schools, we find that it improves teaching practices and boosts students’ mathematics performance. The positive effect on student performance persists also long after the intervention has ended. In addition, we show that the program passes a cost-benefit test. The educational strategies of Asian countries can, thus, be successfully modified and adapted to Western contexts by national policy.

Keywords: Teacher development; Student performance; Mathematics; Lesson study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I28 J45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 63 pages
Date: 2021-12-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-sea and nep-ure
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