Lucy Rycroft-Smith
Lucy researches, edits, speaks and writes about, and designs products related to mathematics education for the Cambridge Mathematics Framework, including in her specialist area of discrete and computational mathematics. She leads the team’s strategy on Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) as well as the design of professional learning products such as Espressos and Instants; she also leads on consistency, connections and thematic development across the Framework.
A former mathematics teacher, Lucy has worked in both the primary and secondary sectors, including as a Head of Mathematics in a secondary school, and as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. She has been a freelance writer and speaker in education for ten years, writing for various organisations such as the BBC, the Guardian and Tes, and is the author of many articles and research papers on mathematics education, including intersections with EDIB and LGBTQIA identities. She is studying for her PhD at the University of Cambridge, considering the idea of knowledge brokering – how, what, when, where and why mathematics teachers may connect with research.
Academic qualifications:
BSc (Hons); PGCE; MEd (Cantab)
Professional memberships:
2016 – present British Educational Research Association (BERA): Member
2016 – present Mathematical Association (MA): Member
2017 – present British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM): Member
2018 – present All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Teaching Profession: Member
2018 – present Chartered College of Teaching: Founding Fellow
2022 – present International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE): Fellow and Executive Committee Member
Selected publications
2022 The Primary Teacher's Maths Journeybook: A Year of Professional Learning, Cambridge University Press.
2019 The Equal Classroom: Life-Changing Thinking About Gender, Routledge.
2017 Flip the System UK: A Teachers’ Manifesto, Routledge.
Rycroft-Smith, L. (2022). Knowledge brokering to bridge the research-practice gap in education: Where are we now? Review of Education, 10(1), e3341.
Rycroft-Smith, L., & Gould, T. (2022). "And then you just arrive at zero again": Ways that representations of the number line in board games may support or impede a sense of number. In R. Marks (Ed.), Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics 42(1).
Rycroft-Smith, L. & Stylianides, A. (2022). What makes a good educational research summary? A comparative judgement study of mathematics teachers’ and mathematics education researchers’ views. Review of Education, 10(1), e338.
Rycroft-Smith, L., & Macey, D. (2021). Deep questions of evidence and agency: How might we find ways to resolve tensions between teacher agency and the use of research evidence in mathematics education professional development? In R. Marks (Ed.), Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, 41(2).
Rycroft-Smith, L., & Macey, D. (2021). White and black: the personal politics of research methodologies. In R. Marks (Ed.), Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics 41(3).
