This paper reports on a large national project that explored successful numeracy practices in remote and very remote schools. While there have been a number of significant findings, the middle leader has been identified as a key role in the development of successful numeracy/mathematics practices in schools. The middle leader plays a critical role…

Intervention at scale with the aim of improving student participation, engagement and outcomes in mathematics education is a challenge for educational policy makers and reformers. This article argues that an iterative annual cycle of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation enabled ongoing adjustments to the strategic focus, the…

With deliberate system-level reform now being acted upon around the world, both successful and unsuccessful cases provide a rich source of knowledge from which we can learn to improve large-scale reform. Research surrounding the effectiveness of a theory-based system-wide numeracy reform operating in primary schools across Australia is examined to…

This article describes some outcomes of a nine-month design-based research study into the professional development of 24 numeracy teachers with post-16 learners. Teachers analysed research-based principles for teaching, and engaged in a design-research process by testing and refining teaching activities to embody these principles. Data from…

The introduction of the subject Mathematical Literacy (ML) as part of the education reform process, led to the development of many large scale in-service programmes designed to train practising teachers to teach the new subject. The purpose of the study is to examine the challenges associated with providing in-service training for teachers of ML,…

This paper reports on the use of a profiling instrument to evaluate an in-service professional development program for teachers of middle school numeracy. Two aspects of the use of the profile are reported. One relates to the aims of the profile to reflect Lee Shulman?s seven types of teacher knowledge and to measure change in teachers with…

The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies (NLS and NNS) represent a major government initiative to improve classroom practice and student learning in literacy and mathematics in elementary schools across England. National targets were intended to increase the percentage of 11-year-olds reaching the "expected level"--Level 4--in…

I describe a major research program on primary mathematics in the UK, the Leverhulme Numeracy Research Program, and give a sample of some of the preliminary results. The program combines large-scale longitudinal survey and case studies, quantitative and qualitative data, and observation and intervention studies in order to try to ascertain how and…

A 3-day working conference on adult mathematical literacy took a first step toward ensuring that all adults acquire the mathematical skills they need to function on the job and in society, to achieve personal goals, and to support their children's education. Participants were adult educators involved in numeracy-related instruction, teacher…

"Research Highlights" is an annual publication documenting developments in the Australian Council for Educational Research's (ACER's) research programs for the previous year. The 2003 edition highlights research on the following themes: (1) Australian students excel in international study; (2) Assessing the moral and ethical outcomes of…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Leadership Curriculum Modules support leadership preparation redesign efforts in many universities and school districts across the country. The school practices and change processes necessary to improve the school as a system and its curriculum and instruction are the topics that drive this curriculum.…

Since the "Kangan Report" (1974), literacy and numeracy (L&N) issues have become an integral component of policy development in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector. Debate in the literature is based on competing discourses: functional-economic and social practice. These discourses and globalization of the…

In 2001-2002, the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium conducted 26 national investigations with findings in the following areas: (1) population competence; (2) linking literacy and numeracy into training; (3) professional support for educators and trainers; and (4) policy and systemic issues. All the projects were intended…

The six state-based research centers of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium (ALNARC) investigated the effects of inclusion of literacy and numeracy standards in Australia's national training packages and the standards' impact on the quality of learning and work outcomes. The six ALNARC projects, which used a case study…

This book, aimed at mathematics and vocational educators and researchers, analyzes the historical, sociological, and practical elements of mathematics within vocational education against the emerging impact of technology. Focus is on the current situation of mathematics within Australian vocational and technical education and how that might be…