Recognizing that the teacher is the key to improving any mathematics program, this volume examines the responsibility of primary school teachers for the mathematics component of the curriculum and the implications thereof for teacher education. The first two chapters focus on the responsibilities of teachers of primary mathematics and contemporary trends. The third chapter discusses the importance of the student's everyday environment as a source of problems that command attention and as a framework within which mathematics can flourish. The fourth chapter considers what actually happens in the classroom. The fifth chapter focuses on implications of calculators and computers for primary school mathematics. The next four chapters are concerned with concepts, examining the origins of conceptual difficulties children experience in mathematics, aspects of visualization in teaching geometry, spatial ability and geometry teaching in Jamaica, and the working of story problems. The next five chapters are devoted to various aspects of pre- and in-service teacher education, including assessment strategies and a pre-service project in England. The last three chapters examine support programs, including the role of teacher associations, mathematics clubs in schools and colleges of education, and the work of the Institute de recherche sur l'enseignment des mathematiques (IREMs) in France. (JN)