"I don't like it, I don't love it, but I do it and I don't mind" : introducing a framework for engagement with mathematics

This article is an introduction to the Framework for Engagement with Mathematics (FEM), a framework that provides insight for educators into the foundations necessary for students to engage with mathematics. The framework is the result of a qualitative, longitudinal study of the influences on student engagement during the middle years of schooling. Although much has been written about what good mathematics teaching should look like and several frameworks are available for educators to use as a model for good teaching, continuing negative attitudes and disengagement with mathematics both imply that teachers may not be accessing the frameworks or the frameworks themselves are not addressing student needs. The FEM highlights that it is not simply the pedagogical repertoires or the resources that teachers use that influence student engagement, it is the deeper level of pedagogical relationships that develop between students and teachers that are a necessary foundation for engagement to occur.