Helen Forgasz

• PhD, BSc, DipEd, BEd, MEdSt, GradDipEdAdmin
• Professor Emeritus at Monash University (Australia)

In this chapter we review Australasian research on numeracy education published from 2020 to 2023. This is the second consecutive chapter to be dedicated to numeracy research in MERGA’s four-yearly reviews, which reflects the significance of research and policy developments in this field. Not only has numeracy become an important goal of schooling,...

In recent years, numeracy has had an increasing focus in the Australian educational system, with policies and assessments in place for both students and teachers. In order to address the requirements of their careers, teachers need to have sufficient numeracy capabilities. In our study, we explored the numeracy capabilities of post-graduate pre-ser...

In this opinion piece, I discuss a range of issues associated with the inclusion of gender diverse students’ responses in the analyses of large-scale mathematics education data sets. Definitions of the terms gender and sex over time are examined, as well as the associated gender and sex categories that have and can be used. Of particular interest a...

This study examined the type of mathematical tasks in two Australian and two Indonesian mathematics textbooks for 7th-grade students. The quantitative data were collected from the coding results of the tasks in the textbooks. The tasks were coded based on six categories: the presentation forms, the cognitive requirements, the contextual features, t...

In Australia, numeracy is one of the general capabilities of the national curriculum and one of the required standards for graduating teachers. Thus, regardless of the grade level or subject area, teachers are expected to incorporate numeracy into their teaching. At Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, students in the Master of Teaching (MTea...

Recent Australasian research on equitable, socially just, and ethical mathematics teaching and learning is reviewed and critiqued in this chapter. The literature surveyed includes studies in which researchers reported on the degree of equity for Australasian communities previously identified as disadvantaged in mathematics: girls and women; low soc...

Explorations of the national NAPLAN numeracy data consistently reveal a strong relationship between achievement on these tests and students’ socio-economic background. A small but persistent pattern of gender difference favouring males in mean NAPLAN numeracy scores is also reported. Whether these patterns are replicated for students attending sing...

Despite significant efforts and many intervention programs over the years to encourage girls to study computing, we continue to see a declining interest. Girls’ lack of engagement with technology at school is resulting in fewer women entering the Information Technology (IT) workforce. Our research investigated whether a long-term intervention progr...

The debate on the relative merits of single-sex and co-educational schooling for girls and boys persists. There are also on-going concerns in Australia about declining enrolments in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines at both the tertiary and school levels. In this article, we summarise some core findings from t...

In this chapter, the basic elements associated with scholarly writing in English are presented. In some sections, exercises (with answers) are provided. With respect to writing theses as well as scholarly journal papers and book chapters, the abstract and the literature review are the main sections focused on in this chapter.

In 2015, a new Master of Teaching coursework unit, Numeracy for Learners and Teachers, was introduced at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The drivers for the establishment of the unit were the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership numeracy standards for graduate teachers and the inclusion of numeracy as a general capabil...

Gender differences in mathematics learning outcomes are still evident in many countries participating in large scale international testing, as well as in national testing in Israel, the context in which the study reported here was conducted. The participants were 281 students from three Israeli elementary schools and were in grades 4 and 6. The stu...

Assessment in mathematics is assumed to provide credible and important information about what students know and can do. In this paper we focus on large scale tests and question whether mathematics assessment is essentially gender neutral. We consider aspects of test validity and discuss issues of terminology related to gender and mathematics. In pa...

The effectiveness of an individual, conceptual instruction-based tuition program delivered by personal videoconferencing (PVC), compared to face-to-face (FtF) delivery for 30 upper primary and middle school students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD), is described in this article. The experimental intervention targeted number sense, conc...

The aim of this study was to explore the beliefs of elementary school students about mathematics and about themselves as mathematics learners. The participants, Israeli grade 4 and grade 6 students, completed questionnaires. Using an “animal metaphor” to tap beliefs, some students perceived mathematics as difficult and complicated, while for others...

In this article, we confront the challenges to teachers and pre-service teachers raised by the concept of numeracy and its place in the curriculum. After a brief overview of the way numeracy has been interpreted historically, we turn to contemporary perspectives and point to ways that numeracy is incorporated into the official (intended) school cur...

Surveys are commonly used to determine how people feel about a specific issue. The increasing availability of the internet and popularity of social networking sites have opened up new possibilities for conducting surveys and, with limited additional costs, enlarge the pool of volunteer respondents with the desired background, experience, or charact...

We report the general public’s perceptions and those of 15-year-old school students, about aspects of mathematics learning. For the adult sample, survey data were gathered from pedestrians and Facebook users in Australia, Canada and the UK—countries in which English is the dominant language spoken. Participants responded to items about the teaching...

This is the fourth chapter on affective issues to appear in the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) reviews of research in mathematics education. In our review of topics and findings of studies that have been published in Australasia during the period 2012–2015, some themes and issues have been identified that appear notewor...

The focus of this chapter is on the effective and inclusive classroom practices for the teaching and learning of mathematics at the primary and early secondary levels. The research literature and major national and international reports on effective and inclusive mathematics teaching at the primary and secondary levels of schooling are examined. So...

“Ethical understanding” has been included as one of seven general capabilities that teachers are charged to incorporate in their teaching across all subject areas within an inclusive Australian Curriculum. In this chapter, we explore the dilemmas and challenges this will present to teachers of mathematics. We draw on ideas from psychology and philo...

In this chapter the authors present findings from recent research studies, conducted in different contexts, in which gender issues associated with a range of affective variables included in explanatory models for gender differences in mathematics learning outcomes – achievement and participation – were explored. The studies encompass data gathered...

This article presents a reflective analysis of an outreach programme called the Digital Divas Club. This curriculum-based programme was delivered in Australian schools with the aim of stimulating junior and middle school girls’ interest in computing courses and careers. We believed that we had developed a strong intervention programme based on prev...

Although, in the Australian context, teachers are urged to address cross-curricular numeracy demands, whether pre-service teachers recognise and are prepared for this responsibility is rarely addressed. In this paper we report data from a pilot study in which we explored the numeracy capabilities of 151 pre-service teachers, their expectations of t...

Numeracy is a fundamental component of the Australian Curriculum as a General Capability in each subject. Here, we report on an aspect of a larger project that aims to provide insight into how teachers can assist their students to develop a critical orientation to life-related situations through a cross-curricular approach to numeracy. Specifically...

This article is a state-of-the-art synthesis of literature concerned with the concept of Numeracy (also known internationally by other terms such as mathematical literacy), and the teaching, learning and assessment practices associated with this construct. Numeracy is a concept used to identify the knowledge and capabilities required to accommodate...

Data from a pilot study concerned with pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the numeracy demands on Australian teachers are reported. The sample comprised 211 students enrolled in pre-service teacher education courses at a large Australian university. While most recognised the importance of mathematics and its applications in everyday life, less th...

The tradition of the MERGA four-year review provides evidence of sustained and evolving research within the Australasian mathematics education community. As part of the editing team for the previous review (Forgasz et al., 2008) we appreciate the opportunity to reflect on that review and to provide some personal insights into recent developments.

Within Australia over the last decade there has been considerable government rhetoric about impending shortages in the STEM workforce and the long-term impact on the future economy. Much of the data provided in government and industry reports allude to falling participation rates in STEM-related subjects and the inability of industry to employ suit...

Historically, mathematics has been viewed as a male domain and English as a female domain. In the longer term, female exclusion from mathematics and male exclusion from English because of societal expectations can only be detrimental to the diversity and creativity of the nation’s future citizenry. In Australia, national achievement data indicate t...

Mathematics continues to be an enabling discipline for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-based university studies and related careers. Explanatory models for females’ underrepresentation in higher level mathematics and STEM-based courses comprise learner-related and environmental variables—including societal beliefs. Using Fa...

Numeracy is a fundamental component of the Australian National Curriculum as a General Capability identified in each F-10 subject. In this paper, we consider the principles of design necessary for the development of numeracy tasks specific to subjects other than mathematics – in this case, the subject of English. We explore the nature of potential...

In this paper we report trends over time of performance of non-Indigenous and Indigenous students on the Numeracy component of the NAPLAN tests. Possible links between student performance on the NAPLAN Numeracy test and the four components - Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Grammar - of the NAPLAN Literacy test were also explored. While the performa...

Pedestrians were stopped in the street and asked about their views on the teaching and learning of mathematics and English for boys and girls. Many commented on the importance of teachers for both subject areas; some respondents self-identified as teachers. In this article we present findings on the gendering of mathematics and English and the impa...

Despite over 20 years of Information Technology (IT) intervention programs, the proportion of females in the discipline has decreased this century. The depiction of the IT profession on television is a significant source of information about IT careers and may influence student career decisions. In this study, the ways in which male and female IT e...

Collectively, lawyers probably seek in vain to be sufficiently trusted, even when most individual lawyers appear to do their utmost to behave responsibly. Efforts to address lawyers' behavioural failures remain an important social policy objective and a professional obligation. In this article we argue that it is politically sensible and socially r...

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN] was introduced in Australia in 2008. Each year since then, NAPLAN tests have been administered nationally to students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. Results from these tests in different years are reported on the same achievement scale so that a student’s performance on successive testings...

There has been a long held perception that the field of mathematics is more appropriate for males than for females. This construct, mathematics as a male domain, has been considered a critical variable in explanations for females' under-representation in the most demanding mathematics subjects offered at school and higher education, and in related...

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

The most recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) (2009) mathematical literacy results provide evidence that in Western English-speaking countries, including Australia, the gender gap in achievement appears to be widening in favour of males. In the study reported in this article, the aim was to explore the effects of gender, schoo...

Females’ participation in areas long considered to be male domains has improved over time. Nevertheless, gender differences in performance continue to be reported in large scale mathematics achievement data. In contemporary research literature, reference is frequently made to the impact of pervasive societal beliefs about gender linked capabilities...

The role of digital technologies in enhancing learning and teaching has been a subject of interest to mathematics educators for at least the past three decades. International interest in this area has been paralleled in Australasia as is evidenced by chapters on this topic in previous MERGA research reviews (e.g., Goos & Cretchley, 2004; Thomas & C...

The Gender and Mathematics Working Group (GMWG) reconvenes this year at PME-NA to: discuss current work on gender at the national and international levels; examine feminist and gender study theories that inform our work; and connect gender and mathematics research findings to practice in schools and communities. Members share seven short summaries...

In Australia, national tests of mathematics achievement continue showing small but consistent gender differences in favor of boys. Societal views and pressures are among the factors invoked to explain such subtle but persistent differences. In this paper we focus directly on the beliefs of the general public about students’ learning of mathematics...

In Australia, as elsewhere, women's participation rates in Information Technology (IT) have been low. IT is the generic term used to refer to the many courses in the Computer Science, and Information Systems disciplines. While there have been a number of intervention programmes implemented aimed at encouraging women into IT and retaining them once...

In this chapter, we examine and compare scholarly research and media coverage of equity and quality issues with respect to mathematics learning. Our focus is on equity issues that the media are likely to cover including mathematics achievements by gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background, as well as aspects of school practices such as abili...

We report findings from qualitative case studies of two grade 5 classrooms in Israel, one Jewish and one Druze. The aim was to identify classroom factors contributing to the differences in the gendered patterns of mathematics outcomes for Jewish and Arab Israeli students. Marked differences were found in the teachers' gender-related interactions wi...

Over the last 20 years much has been done to encourage female students to choose computing courses and computing careers. Some instances of positive effects have been reported, yet the proportional disparity in gender in this discipline continues to grow. This paper reports on a program called 'Digital Divas'. Digital Divas aims to scaffold positiv...

Streaming for mathematics remains a contentious issue and particular forms of the practice have been considered inequitable. In the study reported here, the focus was on the extent to which streaming is used for mathematics at years 7–10 in Victorian secondary schools. Also of interest were the forms of streaming adopted and the criteria for select...

In this chapter, issues of equity – including gender, access, and agency – with respect to the learning of mathematics with technology are examined. Research findings are not equivocal. Compared to late developing countries, where issues of access to technology can be complicated by educational and cultural values and beliefs, there seems to be gre...

Using different levels of analysis, we identify some factors influencing the integration of digital technology in mathematics and we try to explain the contradiction between the strong political will for this integration and the weak implementation in mathematics classrooms. When one wants to change something, resistances often arise; we have ident...

This paper revisits the reported dualism associated with the perceptions of the ICT industry and the actual work experiences of women with this career. Eighteen female ICT professionals participated in a series of interviews in which their journeys towards their current employment roles were traced. Given the low numbers of women attracted to the I...

In this article, results are presented from a large‐scale online survey about the motivations of career change students, and their beliefs about the attributes that they bring to the teaching profession. The findings revealed that career changers' motivations were largely intrinsic, although pragmatic decisions were also important, with perceived f...

Currently, women occupy less than 20% of places in the ICT courses offered by higher education institutions in Victoria and, as of 2007, women held only 16% of ICT jobs in the state (Multimedia Victoria 2008 p 25). At the secondary school level there has in fact been a marked downturn in girls' interest in such courses, reflecting a more general de...

In English-speaking, Western countries, mathematics has traditionally been viewed as a “male domain”, a discipline more suited to males than to females. Recent data from Australian and American students who had been administered two instruments [Leder & Forgasz, in Two new instruments to probe attitudes about gender and mathematics. ERIC, Resources...

In the early 1970s, gender differences in mathematics learning outcomes favouring males were identified. Research efforts revealed that learner-related cognitive and affective variables, as well as school-related and societal factors were implicated. Policy changes and funded intervention programs followed and had mixed effects. Both government and...

The depiction of females and males in Mozambican Primary Mathematics textbooks for grades 6 and 7 were examined, and comparisons made with Victorian (Australia) textbooks for years 5 and 6. It was found that mathematics learning was portrayed as a male domain in the Mozambican textbooks, reflecting what used to be the case with Australian texts of...

This paper explores the perceived parental influence (PPI) on mathematics learning among over 700 students across three year levels (Years 5, 7, 9) in China and Australia. It was found that the PPI of students was less strong as year levels increased in both countries. Students in China had stronger perceived parental encouragement and higher perce...

International studies represent one important aspect of the phenomenon of the internationalization and globalization of mathematics education and have attracted the interest of many organizations and researchers. There are challenges and difficulties in conducting surveys in different cultural settings which have not been well documented in the mat...

The findings presented in this article were derived from a 3- year study aimed at examining issues associated with the use of computers for secondary mathematics learning in Victorian (Australia) schools. Gender and other equity factors were of particular interest. In this article, the focus is on the participating mathematics teachers. Data on the...

Academics are reported to be working longer hours and have less time for research because of increasing administrative and teaching demands. The traditional pattern of the academic enterprise appears to have changed. To explore whether this is indeed the case, the Experience Sampling Method [ESM], a research technique devised by Mihaly Csikszentmih...

In this paper, enrolment data in year 12 mathematics subjects across Australia for the years 2000-2004 are presented. Based on the Barrington and Brown (2005) year 12 mathematics subject categorisations, the focus is on examining enrolments in "Intermediate" level subjects, the most likely pre-requisites for tertiary-level mathematics/science-relat...

It is now frequently argued that intervention programs aimed at improving schooling for females have been so successful that males, as a group, should be perceived as disadvantaged: in terms of educational participation, adjustment to schooling, and achievement in most subjects - including mathematics. In this paper we examine two large data bases...

Included in contemporary mathematics curricula is the expectation that mathematics teachers will use technology - computers and calculators - in their classrooms. It is widely believed in Australian educational circles and in society at large that students' learning will be enhanced by engaging with these technologies. For children to use computers...

Despite significant efforts and many intervention programs over the years to encourage girls to study computing we continue to see a declining interest in computing by girls. Girls’ lack of engagement with technology at school is resulting in fewer women interested in an information technology (IT) career and entering the IT workforce. To address t...

In this paper, findings are reported from a recently conducted pilot study in which the Experience Sampling Method [ESM] was used to monitor the daily lives of a group of secondary school mathematics teachers in Victoria, Australia. The specific aims of the study were (1) to compare the work patterns of experienced and novice mathematics teachers,...

In this paper findings from a recent review of Australian research on gender issues in mathematics education (Vale, Forgasz & Horne, 2004) are presented.

In this paper, we explore the learning climate and possible obstacles faced by mature students enrolled in Australian universities. More specifically, using the Experience Sampling Method devised by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, we chart the daily activities of Australian and international students and examine these for factors which may facilitate or d...

Gender differences in participation and performance at ‘high stakes’ examinations have received much public attention, which has often focused on mathematics and science subjects. This paper describes the innovative forms of assessment introduced into mathematics and science subjects within the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) system. Resul...

Historically, mathematics has been stereotyped as a male domain, and there is considerable evidence to support this belief. In the last 30 years, mathematics education researchers have uncovered a range of factors contributing to the documented achievement and participation differences that favored males and sought to redress them. Mathematics as a...

A major policy objective of the Australian Government is to provide all young people with strong foundations in numeracy. This article reports on a national project coordinated by Deakin University. The project, entitled "Primary numeracy: A mapping, review and analysis of Australian research in numeracy learning at the primary school level," was f...

In this chapter we provide a brief overview of commonly used definitions of beliefs, ways in which beliefs are measured in general, and in mathematics education research in particular. Next we describe how the technique known as the Experience Sampling Method was used to infer students’ attitudes to, and beliefs about a range of daily activities, i...