Research driven by government policy in mathematics education has focused on determining teaching and learning strategies to promote engagement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The aim of this study is to systematically review empirical research from 2008-2017 that examines ways to promote engagement and support successful…

This paper examines the outcomes of a 4-year implementation of a mathematics program (Representations, oral language and engagement in Mathematics: RoleM) for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students' learning of mathematics across the first 4 years of primary school (Foundation--Year 3). It specifically aims to determine how…

The focus of this paper is to examine the personal impact professional learning had on ITAs within the mathematics classroom. This paper is based on a four-year longitudinal qualitative study called Representations, Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics (RoleM). The main study focused on the teaching and learning of mathematics of Indigenous…

Indigenous teacher assistants (ITAs) are often employed in schools to assist in addressing educational issues relating to Indigenous students. While, this practice has occurred for over 40 years in most Australian states, little has been written about their contribution in assisting Indigenous students to learn. This paper explores the influence…

This paper presents a hypothesised learning trajectory for a Year 3 Indigenous student en route to generalising growing patterns. The trajectory emerged from data collected across a teaching experiment (students n = 18; including a pre-test and three 45-minute mathematics lessons) and clinical interviews (n = 3). A case study of one student is…

The aim of this study was to determine the role of semiotics in assisting young Indigenous students to engage with and identify the general structure of growing patterns. The theoretical perspective of semiotics underpinned the study. Data are drawn from two Year 3 students, including analysis of pretest questions and two conjecture-driven…

This paper presents the results from an initial lesson in a series of design experiments focusing on young Indigenous students' understandings of growing patterns. Indigenous students in Year 2 and 3 (n = 16) participated in pre lesson activities and a 45 minute lesson on growing patterns. Tentative findings from this study suggest that; (a) Year…

This paper explores how young Indigenous students' (Year 2 and 3) generalise growing patterns. Piagetian clinical interviews were conducted to determine how students articulated growing pattern generalisations. Two case studies are presented displaying how students used gesture to support and articulate their generalisations of growing patterns.…

This paper focuses on very young students' ability to engage in repeating pattern tasks and identifying strategies that assist them to ascertain the structure of the pattern. It describes results of a study which is part of the Early Years Generalising Project (EYGP) and involves Australian students in Years 1 to 4 (ages 5-10). This paper reports…

Australian students from disadvantaged contexts who speak English as a second language (ESL) are at risk of being developmentally vulnerable when compared to their peers (Gonski et al., 2011). This article presents selected findings from a large-scale longitudinal study designed specifically for young students in disadvantaged contexts. It reports…

The gap between young Indigenous and non-Indigenous students' capability within mathematics is widely acknowledged. This gap is conjectured to exist at all levels of schooling, including pre-school, and widens as students mature. Most of these findings are based on research relating to students' understanding of number and space. Little is known…

This paper explores the outcomes of the first year of the implementation of a mathematics program ("Representations, oral language and engagement in Mathematics": RoleM) which is framed upon research relating to effectively supporting young Indigenous students' learning. The sample comprised 230 Indigenous students (average age 5.76…

The gap between young Indigenous and non-Indigenous children's capability within mathematics is widely acknowledged. This gap is conjectured to exist at all levels of schooling, including pre-school, and widens as children mature. Most of these findings are based on research relating to children's understanding of number and space. Little is known…