Creating a mathematics department at schools drives educational training. Such are the findings of the second-quartile article Liderazgo educativo en el Departamento de Matemáticas. Impulsar la formación didáctica de las matemáticas [Educational Leadership in the Mathematics Department: Driving Educational Training in Mathematics], published by the vice-dean of the Faculty of Education, Salvador Vidal. The paper appears in the International Journal of Educational Leadership and Management.  

The article explains that, in order to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, “creating and launching a mathematics department has proven extremely efficient as a driving force to vertically coordinate the teaching of this subject on all levels from pre-primary to post-compulsory education”.

According to Dr Vidal, “all teachers exert a shared leadership and have a forum for discussing and reaching agreements as to ways to innovate in and restructure teaching”. Educators are therefore able to introduce new methods and share materials and success stories in the classrooms.

Nevertheless, the publication lays the groundwork for creating the department and defines its necessary functions, as well as the functions of the department head and what the department should push for. “It shows the importance of leadership in creating organisations that work”, concludes Dr Vidal.