ABSTRACT
This chapter has two main aims. First, to examine where the current focus on mastery has come from and how the word mastery is being used. Second, to consider the evidence that what is being promoted in the mastery brand might benefit students and teachers. Policymakers in England promote East Asian informed classroom practices, but not the very different conditions of service of teachers in relation to the amount of class contact and the amount of time for paid professional development. Education seems to have fashions. Perhaps, like with clothing styles, once something has become fashionable it is easy to forget that what is currently the trend was not always the case. There is a long history of looking overseas for ideas to improve mathematics teaching in England, for example this informed the National Numeracy Strategy.
