Qualifying in 1977, Paul Andrews taught mathematics in three comprehensive schools in Telford, England, before becoming a teacher educator at the Manchester Metropolitan University in 1990.

He joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge in 1999 before becoming Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Stockholm in 2013. His primary research interest, typically drawing on video recordings of mathematics lessons, lies in understanding how different European cultures construct their respective intended, implemented and attained curricula. Such work cannot be meaningfully undertaken independently of the influence of large scale tests of mathematics achievement like TIMSS and PISA.