This exploratory study examined the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of early childhood care and learning at selected community-based childcare centers (CBCCs) in Malawi, and aimed to understand underlying challenges and opportunities that may be addressed to improve quality and ultimately children's outcomes. Classroom environments and…

This study, commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), is designed to review current evidence on the most effective ways in which employers can support schools to improve pupil educational and economic outcomes. It is a study in three parts. It aims, first, to conceptualise employer engagement in education as a strategic tool,…

This guide is a revised and updated edition of "Making It Count." This version contains much of the information from the earlier publication but also includes strategies for using project-based learning and Web-based instructional programs to support the development of mathematics proficiency for youth in short-term juvenile correctional…

aimswebPlus® is an assessment, data management, and reporting system that provides national and local performance and growth norms for the screening and progress monitoring of math and reading skills for all students in kindergarten through 8th grade. aimswebPlus uses two types of measures: (1) "curriculum-based measures" (CBMs)--brief,…

We report a randomised controlled trial evaluation of an intensive one-to-one numeracy programme--"Numbers Count"--which formed part of the previous government's numeracy policy intervention--"Every Child Counts." We rigorously designed and conducted the trial to CONSORT guidelines. We used a pragmatic waiting list design to…

In the 1990s and 2000s, New Zealand governments monitored national educational performance broadly through cyclical "light-sampling" of primary school students, and the annual proportions of secondary school students who gained formal credentials. In 2008, a centre-right coalition government legislated for national standards of…

In today's competitive job market, education is increasingly touted as necessary preparation for the workplace (Joyce, Hassall, Montano, & Anes, 2006). The literature suggests that one of the most important skill sets identified by both educators and practitioners is the need for numerical competency and analytical proficiency (Joyce et…

This paper presents a user study that investigates the factors affecting student attention to user-adaptive hints during interaction with an educational computer game. The study focuses on Prime Climb, an educational game designed to provide individualized support for learning number factorization skills in the form of textual hints based on a…

This study introduces a student model and control algorithm, optimizing mathematics learning in children. The adaptive system is integrated into a computer-based training system for enhancing numerical cognition aimed at children with developmental dyscalculia or difficulties in learning mathematics. The student model consists of a dynamic…

Children struggle with mathematics for different reasons. Developmental dyscalculia and low numeracy--two kinds of mathematical difficulties--may have their roots, respectively, in poor understanding of exact non-symbolic numerosities and of symbolic numerals. This study was the first to explore whether Chinese children, despite cultural and…

The purpose of this study was to explore problem solving with kindergarten students. This line of inquiry is highly significant given that Common Core State Standards emphasize deep, conceptual understanding in mathematics as well as problem solving in kindergarten. However, there is little research on problem solving with kindergarten students.…

Higher level vocational education and training (VET) programmes are facing rapid change and intensifying challenges. What type of training is needed to meet the needs of a changing economies? How should the programmes be funded? How should they be linked to academic and university programmes? How can employers and unions be engaged? This report…

Indigenous students in the middle-school years who experience difficulties in basic mathematics are a particularly vulnerable group. During these years gaps in performance between educationally disadvantaged students and their peers widen, potentially leading to ongoing economic and social disadvantage. This proposal reports on a teaching…

This paper reviews recent literature on teacher identity in order to propose an operational framework that can be used to investigate the formation and development of numeracy teacher identities. The proposed framework is based on Van Zoest and Bohl's (2005) framework for mathematics teacher identity with a focus on those characteristics thought…

Numeracy is a fundamental component of the Australian National Curriculum as a General Capability identified in each F-10 subject. In this paper we report on an aspect of a larger project aimed at investigating how effective cross-curricular numeracy practice can be implemented within the context of the Australian National Curriculum.…