Aspirations for mathematics learning: the voice of primary mathematics middle leaders

Little is known about primary school mathematics middle leaders' aspirations for mathematics learning. We sought to give mathematics middle leaders a voice to articulate their desires for mathematics learning based on what was most salient to them. Statements collected from 149 primary school mathematics middle leaders through an online survey were categorised using an ecological approach to determine the system level (i.e., mathematics middle leader, classroom, school, education system, or cultural norm) in which their aspirations for mathematics learning mostly presided. The mathematics middle leaders' aspirations were situated across the full range of ecological systems. However, more mathematics middle leaders focused their aspirations within the classroom level, compared with any other level, and around 15% focused on their own knowledge and capacity to lead.