Participation structures are important in relation to who gets equitable access to mathematics within classrooms premised on co-construction of mathematical reasoning. This paper takes a strength-based focus to explore how two teachers extended their Pasifika students' known repertoires of practice to encompass others, which supported them to…

Pasifika cultures have a rich background of mathematics including a strong emphasis on patterns used within craft design (Finau & Stillman, 1995). However, there have been limited studies which have investigated the use of contextual Pasifika patterns in mathematics classrooms. The aim of this study was to explore how contextual Pasifika…

Patterns of participation in mathematics are often affected by power and status structures in the classroom. This case study focuses on two 10-year-old students who have achievement and status and power issues in mathematics, within a class of predominantly Maori and Pasifika students from low socio-economic backgrounds. The findings illustrate…

Research in both the New Zealand and international contexts identifies the need for New Zealand classrooms to foster culturally responsive and mathematical practices that align with Påsifika students' cultural values, backgrounds, interests and experiences. The aim of this study was to investigate how the use of culturally responsive tasks along…

Research shows that developing students' resilience can rapidly raise student achievement in mathematics. Despite recognising its importance, teachers often do not have access to a repertoire of practices to develop resilient mathematics learners. The present study explores aspects of resilience among a cohort of students from three low…

It is acknowledged that there are connections between language use and mathematics in mathematics education, and the potential challenges this issue can pose have been investigated by researchers. Yet how the challenges can be overcome in statistics classrooms, where language is even more important as a medium of instruction, has received very…

This study investigated teachers' views, all from a Pacific Island context, of assessment practices as it relates to mathematics learning in early childhood, primary, and secondary settings. Based on the analysis of these views, collected via a written survey (n=25) from invited workshop participants in Nauru, a series of four mathematics…

Home-school partnerships in mathematics are increasingly seen as a significant contributor to learners' success in school mathematics. Partnering with learners' families can, however, be challenging for schools. This study focused on an exploration of home-school partnership practices in one culturally diverse, low socioeconomic school in…

Classrooms around the world are becoming increasingly diverse. A major challenge faced by educators is achieving equity for all mathematics learners. To achieve equity, educators need to acknowledge and cater for this increasing diversity which includes attending to values of their students. Drawing on survey responses and individual interviews,…

For Indigenous students in minority education contexts, it is important that teachers have strategies to combine both cultural knowledge and mathematical knowledge in appropriate ways. This paper presents the results from analysing preservice teachers' statistical enquiry assignment linked to a cultural context, in a Maori-medium teacher education…

Despite the Ministry of Education Statement of Intent 2014-2018 that the performance of the education system for priority students--Maori, Pasifika, students with special education needs and students from low socio-economic areas needs to improve rapidly these groups remain a concern in the New Zealand Education System. This article explores what…

In Maori medium schools, research that investigates children's mathematical computation with number and connections they might make to mathematical ideas in other strands is limited. This paper seeks to share ideas elicited in a task-based observation and interview with one child about the number ideas she utilises to solve a problem requiring…

Researchers suggest that teachers' beliefs about teaching are strongly influenced by their personal experiences with mathematics. This study aimed to explore Pacific Island pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' perceptions about good and bad mathematics teachers. Thirty pre-service teachers, enrolled in a mathematics teaching methods course…

This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is "Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice." The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and…