As more and more classroom and digital technologies are developed, the author has had to wrestle with how, and if, certain technologies should be employed in teaching a quantitative reasoning course for university students. Ten self-reflection questions capture the author's key decision-making factors in adjusting to a collaboration classroom…

Public perceptions of mathematics in England are often of a remote inaccessible academic discipline, and disaffection with the subject is a widespread problem. Results from a multi-method study of post-16 students in vocational education in England show however how students' experiences of mathematics after their transition from school to…

Many adult learning centres in England provide numeracy (or mathematics) education to adults in all sectors of society, including migrants from countries across the world. This study takes one group of migrants --- those from Zimbabwe --- and explores the relevance of adult numeracy education to the needs and aspirations of Zimbabwean adult…

The introduction of paramedical science into universities has led to unprecedented enrolment numbers in Australian undergraduate paramedical science programs. At the same time however, there has been an associated increase in complexity of student learning expectations and requirements. One area of paramedical education that is proving challenging…

Adults return to study mathematics for a range of varied and complex reasons. This article addresses the boundaries and barriers that adult learners of mathematics may have faced in the past, or in the present and the future. Taking into account the impact of our era of rapid technological change, I argue for the importance of developing…

Increasing numbers of students attending higher education institutions in Ireland take obligatory mathematics modules -- service mathematics -- as part of their programmes of study. A dislike of mathematics is frequently expressed among students, particularly mature students, some of whom experience mathematics anxiety. However, despite their…

Adult learners preparing for university level study have varying degrees of prior experience, confidence, ability, motivation and need when it comes to mathematical tasks. The development of numeracy skills is a core aspect of university preparation, with many university courses requiring a certain level of mathematical literacy. The standard…

In the Swedish Prison Education Program only two out of ten reach a passing grade in their mathematics courses. Large variation in prior knowledge makes it difficult to meet the students at their level. This paper reports on a project aiming to enhance students' possibilities to access mathematics through individualization. Research findings on…

One of the subjects that constitute a problem for adult students of mathematics is the understanding of fractions and proportions. These notions are interrelated with proportional reasoning which was the focal point of our study. Using a mixed methods approach, we tried to assess the proportional reasoning of adult students during problem solving.…

We propose that by more closely aligning interdisciplinary work in (a) numeracy education for medication dosage calculations and (b) model-driven design for medical devices that are used for delivery of medication we may help address the incident-rate in incorrect medication calculations and delivery, given that such devices commonly require the…

For many mature-aged students, there can be a considerable gap between finishing formal study and beginning university. They are often required to draw on qualifications and skills, including mathematics, which are dated, but necessary for success. Most universities offer several pathways that prospective students can take to enter university:…

Based on the significance of graph comprehension within statistical literacy, we present the findings of a study that took place in a Second Chance School in Greece. Our aim was to assess the progress of adults' comprehension of graphs. In order to offer to our adult students tasks with realistic context we used graphs, published in the media,…

Statistics is one of the important branches of mathematics taught in schools, colleges and universities. It is also an important tool in public policy discussions. This paper focuses on the use of statistics in the latter context, rather than its use in adult mathematics education research. I review the key characteristics of the statistical…

In the United States, after approximately 90 days of English language programs, refugee adults are placed in the mainstream, where they face enormous challenges including navigating bus schedules, buying groceries with a different monetary system, shopping for necessities, and applying for needed social services. The complexity of the mathematics…

In this discussion paper we look at questions that adults have about numbers. Many of their questions are not about pure mathematics, but about personal, cultural or societal issues. We discuss how to connect mathematical topics with things people are interested in, based on theoretic knowledge from the field of science communication. We focus on…