While measures of research quality are widely accepted in the education research community, there may be less agreement on what constitutes evidence of impact and on where to look for it. The aims of this symposium are to consider some key issues in undertaking the Australian government's national assessment of research engagement and impact, and…

The release of the "Australian curriculum: Mathematics" has generated considerable debate in the education community. Some educators warn that this debate has centred on mathematical content and skills, setting the conditions for a "back to basics" movement in line with the political rhetoric that accompanied the national…

In Australia, concerns about the quality of mathematics education that students experience are particularly salient in rural schools. These schools typically report great difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified teachers of mathematics. Teachers in non-metropolitan locations may also experience professional isolation if they have limited…

Numeracy is a general capability to be developed in all learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. We evaluated the numeracy demands of the F-10 curriculum, using a model of numeracy that incorporates mathematical knowledge, dispositions, tools, contexts, and a critical orientation to the use of mathematics. Findings of the history curriculum…

The purpose of this article is to explain the authors' model of numeracy and outline how the project was conducted. The idea of numeracy is a relatively recent one. The term was first introduced in the UK by the "Crowther Report" (Ministry of Education, 1959) and was defined as the mirror image of literacy, but involving quantitative…

This article presents a lesson that focuses on numeracy. In the lesson, students were tasked to find the best path for a new expressway. The purpose of the activity was for students to gain an appreciation of the complexities associated with designing public infrastructure and to put into practice the mathematical skills. This article also…