In a recent edition of "Mathematics Teaching" Midge Pasternack argued the case for the use of the 0-99 square with young children rather than the ubiquitous 1-100 square. In this article, the author would like to take the opportunity to mount a defence in favour of the much maligned 1-100 square. His main criticism of the 0-99 square (apart from…

This article describes the pivotal roles that Marin Mersenne played--as a recreational mathematician in search of prime number patterns and as a mentor to young mathematicians and scientists. His work is used as an example for today's mathematics teachers in encouraging students to work together and creating environments that foster success for…

"Classroom Management Strategies to Address the Needs of Sudanese Refugee Learners" (ED499673) examined the extent to which English language, literacy and numeracy teachers used classroom management strategies to meet the needs of adult Sudanese refugee learners. The researchers found that while teachers met the needs of these learners…

Financial literacy refers to the ability to make informed judgements and to take effective decisions regarding the use and management of money. A baseline survey carried out by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in 2006 highlighted many issues: (1) 29% of 16-4-year-olds said they would not know how to prepare and manage a weekly budget; (2) 19%…

This opening article of the Special Issue makes an argument for parallel definitions of scientific literacy and mathematical literacy that have shared features: importance of general cognitive and metacognitive abilities and reasoning/thinking and discipline-specific language, habits-of-mind/emotional dispositions, and information communication…

This article reports on Ontario's way of school improvement which focuses less on test-score results and more on engaging teachers and principals. Like the United States, the Canadian province of Ontario has committed itself to reaching key numeric targets: at least 75 percent of 6th graders able to read, write, and do mathematics at the…

This article comes largely from observations made on-the-job while teaching mathematics in a government high school in the ACT. The issues canvassed will be familiar to those who have considered the arguments for and against ability grouping in mathematics education. It is speculative in nature, hinting at a synthesis of opposing views in the…

Mathematics achievement is important in its own right, and is increasingly recognized as crucial to the nation's economy [National Mathematics Panel, 2006. "National Mathematics Advisory Panel: Strengthening Math Education Through Research." Accessed September 29, 2006 from http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/factsheet.html.; National…

In the renewed "Primary Framework for Mathematics" for England, great emphasis is given to calculation and its prerequisites (DfES, 2006). Expectations are increased for calculations and the recall of number facts, with mental calculation owning a higher profile, while progression in written calculation is clarified. The greater focus on…

There is a large gap in higher education attainment between different groups of society, especially along gender, class and ethnic dimensions. Reducing these gaps in attainment has been at the forefront of policy makers, not only in this country but also in most advanced economy with policies ranging from financial support to positive…

New ways of thinking about how language, literacy and numeracy skills are taught has coincided with a fundamental policy change in the vocational education and training sector. A major development has been the integration of literacy, language and numeracy skills into vocational training. The complexity of the issues makes it important to gain a…

In a longitudinal study of children in grades 0-4, gender differences are developing very early in some number domains, but there do not appear to be similar differences showing in the measurement and geometry domains studied. The Early Numeracy Research Project collected data at the beginning and end of each year from over 11,000 children in…

Learning mathematics with understanding is the vision of school mathematics recommended by the National Council of Teachers of School Mathematics (NCTM). In order to design and develop learning environments that promote understanding efficiently, teachers need to be aware of student difficulties in learning mathematics. Drawing from the research…

The Scottish Executive Council is working closely with education authorities, schools, and parents to ensure that all Scotland's children have the opportunities and encouragement to attain high standards in literacy and numeracy. The framework for education that has been put in place through the "Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act…

This document contains the proceedings of the 25th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia (MERGA) held at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The focus of this meeting is mathematics education in the South Pacific. Presentations are centered around the topic of numeracy in primary or elementary school.…