In this paper we explore the numeracy practices of adults with learning difficulties (also termed intellectual disabilities). For this purpose, the perspectives of a social practice view on numeracy practices and the concepts of disability and vulnerability were adopted. We argue that little research attention has been paid so far to this social…

In this study we investigated the structure of quantitative competence of kindergartners by testing a hypothesized four-factor model of quantitative competence consisting of the components counting, subitizing, additive reasoning and multiplicative reasoning. Data were collected from kindergartners in the Netherlands (n = 334) and in Cyprus (n =…

Young children show large individual differences in their tendency to focus spontaneously on numerical aspects (e.g., numerosities or Arabic number symbols) of their everyday environment. The origins of these individual differences are unclear. Given the role of the home numeracy environment (HNE) in children's early mathematical development and…

Health-related decisions make use of numeracy skills, for example counting medication dosages, extracting health-related information from food packaging or understanding statistical data. Even though the concept of health literacy is often used to explain health disparities (Freedman et al., in American Journal of Preventive Medicine 36:446-451,…

Research on the sociocultural and sociopolitical dimensions of mathematics education has grown substantially in the last three decades to become part of the mathematics education mainstream. However, little attention has been given to sociocultural and sociopolitical dimensions of adult numeracy practices of migrants in their host countries. The…

This survey paper examines selected issues related to the intersection of three broad scholarly areas: "numeracy," "adult education," and "vulnerability." Numeracy encompasses the ways in which people cope with the mathematical, quantitative, and statistical demands of adult life, and is viewed as an important outcome…

The "cardinality principle" (CP) is a conceptual basis of counting collections meaningfully and provides a foundation for understanding other key aspects of numeracy, such as the successor principle or counting-on to determine sums. Unfortunately, little research has focused on how best to teach the CP. One suggestion is that modeling…

Increasingly, digital technologies are being utilised to provide opportunities for teacher professional learning (PL) in fully online, blended and face-to-face environments. Videos have been used extensively across the three modes of delivery but there appears little research on the conceptual framing underpinning their development. This article…

In this paper, dialogue among a group of adult women with basic adult education is examined. Women read books of mathematics in the context of a "dialogic mathematics gathering" (DMG). There is limited evidence in research on how adults develop their 'numerical understanding'. The objective of this study is to analyze how adults engage…

Research has highlighted the potential of digital technology to support the development of children's number sense abilities. However, the main focus of such research has been on apps affording directed interactions, where only one solution strategy is available, and it has targeted mostly cardinality. Little is known, in these terms, about task…

Previous research has shown that adults from migrant backgrounds often have lower numeracy competence than do their majority counterparts, even though many were educated in their host country. Leaving secondary education with lower levels of numeracy competence than majority students potentially makes migrant students vulnerable as adults, as the…

The development of cognitive skills is influenced by characteristics of both individuals and the environments in which they live, including their homes, neighborhoods, schools and workplaces. Contextual features of these environments shape and constrain cognitive development in various ways. This article considers the case of numeracy development…

In this paper we discuss individual numeracy practices of older people (age cohort 65 and above), concentrating on findings concerning interdependencies of numeracy practices and vulnerability and their reciprocal effects, drawing on first results of a qualitative, explorative study entitled 'Numeracy as social practice in the course of time'. For…

In dealing with over-indebtedness and poverty, numeracy appears necessary for affected persons, in order to use the scarce money available with foresight and to avoid financially negative decisions. However, numeracy as an essential part of (financial) basic education for adults has not yet been systematically taken into account in German debt…

Observing the transition from industrial work to more and more digitalised work in the last decades, in this paper we discuss changes in employment and the relevance of numeracy in adult basic education and in working environments. In a knowledge society, the demand for highly qualified professionals is growing. It is questionable what effects…