Based on the expectancy-value perspective on identity and identity formation, this paper explores the relationship between math identity (MI) and the dimensions of motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value and perceived competence) and math achievement in primary school. An additional aim of our research was to explore…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether students with intellectual disabilities (ID) can improve their arithmetic skills by participating in an arithmetic intervention programme, theoretically founded on explicit instruction (EI) and administered via an application developed for tablet computers. The intervention study used a randomised…

This case study explores how 12-13-year-old students encounter proportional reasoning while working with geometric patterning tasks using concrete materials. The focus is on the students' use of spontaneous concepts when first dealing with such patterns in the context of collaborative work. Based on video recordings of a single lesson, a…

The purpose of this intervention study was to develop and evaluate a support model for teachers, designed to assist them in diagnosing students' (age 16-19 years) difficulties and providing feedback to support students' mathematical problem solving. Reporting on an iteration in a design research project, the results showed that the support helped…

In recent decades, there has been rapid development in digital technologies for automated assessment. Through enhanced possibilities in terms of algorithms, grading codes, adaptivity, and feedback, they are suitable for formative assessment. There is a need to develop computer-aided assessment (CAA) tasks that target higher-order mathematical…

Background: Children's numerical and arithmetic skills differ greatly already at an early age. Although research focusing on accounting for these large individual differences clearly demonstrates that mathematical performance draws upon several cognitive abilities, our knowledge concerning key abilities underlying mathematical skill development is…

One of the main objectives of international large-scale assessments is to make comparisons between different countries, education policies, education systems, or subgroups. One of the main criteria for making comparisons between different groups is to ensure measurement invariance. The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance…

This article is intended to contribute to greater knowledge regarding the importance of flow and the time used to perform an activity, with a focus on students' mathematical experiences of 3D bodies. Thirty-one 9th-grade students took part in the study. Flow and variation theory was used in the analysis of lesson observations, submission tasks,…

This paper discusses the place of precision in mathematics education by exploring its role in curricular guidelines and in classroom life. By means of a joke on precision delivered by a school student in South Sweden, our study focuses on student participation in mathematical tasks that require precision in processes of measuring and reasoning.…

The aim of the study is to investigate and compare approaches to algebra in the Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish national core curricula (Grades 1-9). Despite the similarities in the school systems of these neighboring countries, the analysis reveals three quite different curricular approaches. The Estonian approach shows influences of the Russian…

The aim of this study is to measure the effects of teaching problem-solving strategies as an integrated part of the mathematical content prescribed by the curriculum. By implementing the designs principles developed in the previous study, we carry out a one-year-long teaching intervention in a Swedish upper secondary school. Pre- and post-tests…

Background: In this cross-national study, Spanish, Finnish, and Swedish middle and high school students' procedural flexibility was examined, with the specific intent of determining whether and how students' equation-solving accuracy and flexibility varied by country, age, and/or academic track. The 791 student participants were asked to solve…

This article addresses physics teachers' views about physics teaching in upper-secondary school. Their views have been investigated nationwide through a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire has been developed based on several published instruments and is part of an ongoing project on the role of mathematics in physics teaching at…

We examine a group (N = 88) of Swedish first-year engineering students, their motivation, self-efficacy, and beliefs about the nature of mathematics, and how these relate to their task performance in mathematics. In our data, engineering students who emphasized the exact reasoning in their view of mathematics performed significantly better in a…

Few research studies within the field of mathematics education have focused on the ability to recognize quantities quickly and accurately without counting (i.e. subitizing). The aim of this research was to empirically explore the role of conceptual subitizing activities for enhancing preschool class children's learning of the part-part- whole…