This study comes at an opportune moment for Japanese and U.S. educators, policymakers, and researchers given the trends of global policy and equity-based reform. Discussions of academic achievement in both societies allow us to examine accessibility in mathematics education in order to best prepare teachers to serve the needs of students.…

This paper explores the relationship between social backgrounds and geographical locations with mathematical achievement. Using the national testing system in Australia, correlations between the variables were explored and it was found that students from rural and low SES backgrounds are still being marginalised in school mathematics--in terms of…

This study focuses on students in first year environmental science degree programs, where traditionally mathematical emphasis has been much less than within the strict science or math majors. The importance now placed on applied mathematics, however, means that students need to gain more conceptual and quantitative knowledge of mathematics in not…

In light of the changing ethnic, racial, and cultural demographics in U.S. schools, there is a growing need by scholars and practitioners for teaching practices that are informed by cultural knowledge possessed by students. This comes at a time when standardized testing of student achievement has been given a central role in efforts to improve…

Mathematics textbooks are a predominant resource in primary school in Greece, as well as in many other countries. The present study reports on both a content analysis of Greek mathematics textbooks with regard to the types of word problems represented in them and a quantitative analysis of children's achievement in these problems. For the…

This study comes at an opportune moment for Japanese and U.S. educators, policymakers, and researchers given the trends of global policy and equity-based reform. Discussions of academic achievement in both societies allows us to examine mathematics education as a public good versus private commodity in order to best serve the needs of students.…

Two classes of third grade students (n = 56) from an elementary school located on the western coast of the United States participated in this research study. A pretest-posttest control group design was utilized to examine changes between two groups of participating students' in mathematics achievement and dispositions, including beliefs about…

Research has shown students can identify practices considered appropriate for achieving when learning mathematics (Kershner & Pointon, 2000; McCullum, Hargreaves & Gripps, 2000). Yet, if you listen to students talking about the practices they consider important to succeed, and then observe the same students working in their mathematics…

In this study we explored the effects of providing ninth-grade students with the chance to take part in decision making concerning the mathematics level they would be assigned to in high school. Decisions concerned their self-competence regarding their mathematical abilities, their learning goals and the class atmosphere. The students were taught…

In mathematics education, there has been tension between deep learning and repetitive learning. Western educators often emphasize the need for students to construct a conceptual understanding of mathematical symbols and rules before they practise the rules (Li, 2006). On the other hand, Chinese learners tend to be oriented towards rote learning…

A secondary data analysis was conducted using a large dataset from a study related to online professional development for eighth grade teachers of mathematics. Using this data, the paper provides a snapshot of the current state of teachers' knowledge related to proportional reasoning and functions. The paper also considers how teachers' knowledge…

This paper adds to a discussion initiated by Askew (2007) about two contrasting views of scaffolding; as a "tool for results" and a "tool-and-result". The wider study the article is drawn from took place in four primary classrooms with Pasifika students within a low socioeconomic setting. Two classroom episodes drawn from one of the teacher's…

Moving from primary school (Year 6) to the next stage in schooling (Year 7 intermediate or middle school) can provide challenges for students, teachers, and parents. A study was carried out to investigate these challenges with a focus on mathematics for 65 students from six different urban primary schools in New Zealand. Qualitative data were…

The ability to decode graphics is an increasingly important component of mathematics assessment and curricula. This study examined 50, 9- to 10-year-old students (23 male, 27 female), as they solved items from six distinct graphical languages (e.g., maps) that are commonly used to convey mathematical information. The results of the study revealed:…

In this study, we investigated to what extent arithmetic ability and self-regulated learning skills in the beginning of lower secondary school predicts measures of students' performance in mathematics at the end of lower secondary school. Arithmetic ability and self-regulated learning skills were tested the first two weeks in lower secondary…