Assessing the social and economic costs of poor adult literacy and numeracy skills, and the benefits of investing in such skills, is largely unchartered territory in Australia. This feasibility study explores the frameworks and methodologies available for determining and measuring such benefits and costs across a number of life domains, including…

Mothers' education is frequently found to be positively correlated with child health and nutrition in developing countries, and yet the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. An examination was conducted of the role played by three mechanisms in this process: formal education that directly teaches health knowledge to future mothers; literacy and…

This book explores what makes mathematics possible as well as what makes mathematics difficult. Included is a discussion of the definition of mathematics, mathematics in language, the meaning of numbers, calculating and measuring, notation, numbers in space, and the best ways to learn mathematics. Historical information and practical examples are…

Although numeracy demands in today's workplace are rising steadily, the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) suggests that many workers do not possess sufficient higher-level numeracy skills. Analysis of the NALS results by occupation reveals that large percentages of workers in a wide variety of industries perform only at the two lower levels of…

Argues that mathematics educators face a new set of challenges and choices as society becomes more information-based and demands a higher level of mathematical literacy. Compares the mathematical content of eighth-grade lessons across different countries. (DDR)

Examines the struggles of Kyle, a 30-year-old male, to overcome his innumeracy and to master the routine numerical tasks associated with daily life. Describes Kyle's arithmetic and problem-solving skills and the intervention program designed to develop his ability to solve everyday problems. (Contains 12 references.) (MDH)

Explains the work of a primary-research group focusing on the practical aspects of the use of scale in science. Reports on three studies that look at the impact of the representation of scale in different areas related to the Standard Assessment Tasks (SAT). (DDR)

Argues that statistical literacy is a necessary component of a complete college education and important in combating growing innumeracy in American society, and describes a general education course at the University of Louisville (Kentucky) that includes it. Instruction focuses on societal issues, sometimes controversial, for which an…

Describes the Key Skills, which will be established across the revised National Curriculum being introduced by the British government in September 2000. Discusses ways in which the Key Skills--communication, information and communication technology, application of number, problem solving, working with others, and improving own learning and…

Virtually every public issue depends on data, projections, inferences, and systemic thinking. Besides basic mathematics skills, numeracy (quantitative literacy) encompasses estimating tolerances and errors, constructing complex computer simulations, using flowcharts, drawing inferences, and calculating in three dimensions. The narrow…

Analysis of a national Moroccan literacy and numeracy campaign aimed at adult farmers found that despite the farmers' strong motivations to learn, the initiative had little impact due to irrelevant content, inappropriate teaching methods and poor teacher training, failure to take account of students' expectations and needs, and the top-down nature…

Robert P. Moses, teacher and Civil Rights activist, discusses contributions of his Algebra Project for predominantly minority youngsters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Taking and passing algebra in the eighth grade qualifies students for high-school honors math courses and improves their chances to enter college. Transforming neighborhood schools is…

Children living in a democratic society deserve rich and powerful citizenship lessons. These lessons are of particular importance for children of low socio-economic and culturally diverse backgrounds whose families may feel disenfranchised from citizenship participation because of their education levels, language capabilities or cultural…

During the preliminary stages of classroom-based research, this author conducted a sequence of interviews with six seventh graders regarding their understanding of fractions, decimals, ratios, and proportions. The students represented a variety of ability levels and were all in their first semester of prealgebra. The interviews began with notions…

This article reports on the English National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) and, in particular, on the way in which children aged from 8- to 11-years-old view "interactive whole class teaching". A qualitative, grounded study of both teachers' and children's perceptions of interactive teaching was undertaken, making use of "video stimulated…