Mathematics curriculum, which is often a focus in education reforms, has not received extensive research attention until recently. Ongoing mathematics curriculum changes in many education systems call for further research and sharing of effective curriculum policies and practices that can help lead to the improvement of school education. This book provides a unique international perspective on diverse curriculum issues and practices in different education systems, offering a comprehensive picture of various stages along curriculum transformation from the intended to the achieved, and showing how curriculum changes in various stages contribute to mathematics teaching and learning in different educational systems and cultural contexts. The book is organized to help readers learn not only from reading individual chapters, but also from reading across chapters and sections to explore broader themes, including: Identifying what is important in mathematics for teaching and learning in different education systems; Understanding mathematics curriculum and its changes that are valued over time in different education systems; Identifying and analyzing effective curriculum practices; Probing effective infrastructure for curriculum development and implementation. Mathematics Curriculum in School Education brings new insights into curriculum policies and practices to the international community of mathematics education, with 29 chapters and four section prefaces contributed by 56 scholars from 14 different education systems. This rich collection is indispensable reading for mathematics educators, researchers, curriculum developers, and graduate students interested in learning about recent curriculum development, research, and practices in different education systems. It will help readers to reflect on curriculum policies and practices in their own education systems, and also inspire them to identify and further explore new areas of curriculum research for improving mathematics teaching and learning.

Curriculum can be defined in a variety of ways. It might be viewed as a body of knowledge, a product, or a process. Curricula can differ as they are conceptualized from various theoretical perspectives to address the needs of teachers, students, and the context of schooling. One reason to study curriculum is “to reveal the expectations, processes and outcomes of students’ school learning experiences that are situated in different cultural and system contexts. … further studies of curriculum practices and changes are much needed to help ensure the success of educational reforms in the different cultural and system contexts” (Kulm & Li, 2009, p. 709). This volume highlights international perspectives on curriculum and aims to broaden the wider mathematics education community’s understandings of mathematics curriculum through viewing a variety of ways that curricula are developed, understood, and implemented in different jurisdictions/countries. Within this volume, we define curriculum broadly as the set of mathematics standards or outcomes, the messages inherent in mathematics curriculum documents and resources, how these standards are understood by a variety of stakeholders, and how they are enacted in classrooms. The focus is on the written, implied, and enacted curriculum in various educational settings throughout the world.

Many pre-service teachers admit to feeling unsure about the mathematics they will have to teach in primary school. Others find it difficult to know how to apply the theories of teaching and learning they study in other courses to the teaching of mathematics. This book begins by outlining some of the key considerations of effective mathematics teaching and learning. These include understanding student motivation, classroom management, overcoming maths anxiety and developing a positive learning environment. The authors also introduce the curriculum and assessment processes, and explore the use of ICT in the maths classroom. Part B outlines in a straightforward and accessible style the mathematical content knowledge required of a primary teacher. The content extends beyond the primary level to Year 9 of the Australian Curriculum as, while primary teachers may not have to teach this content, knowing it is a key part of being a strong teacher and will assist pre-service teachers to meet the requirements of the LANTITE (the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education students). Featuring graphics and worked examples and using clear and friendly language throughout, this is the essential introduction for students wishing to begin teaching primary mathematics with confidence and enthusiasm. 'The writing style is clean and uncomplicated; exactly what my maths education students need. The blend of theories, curriculum, planning, assessment and mathematical content knowledge strikes the balance that is missing in many texts.' -- Dr Geoff Hilton, University of Queensland

The mathematics curriculum – what mathematics is taught, to whom it is taught, and when it is taught – is the bedrock to understanding what mathematics students can, could, and should learn. Today’s digital technology influences the mathematics curriculum in two quite different ways. One influence is on the delivery of mathematics through hardware such as desktops, laptops, and tablets. Another influence is on the doing of mathematics using software available on this hardware, but also available on the internet, calculators, or smart phones. These developments, rapidly increasing in their availability and decreasing in their cost, raise fundamental questions regarding a mathematics curriculum that has traditionally been focused on paper-and-pencil work and taught in many places as a set of rules to be practiced and learned. This volume presents the talks given at a conference held in 2014 at the University of Chicago, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum. The speakers – experts from around the world and inside the USA – were asked to discuss one or more of the following topics: • changes in the nature and creation of curricular materials available to students • transformations in how students learn and how they demonstrate their learning • rethinking the role of the teacher and how students and teachers interact within a classroom and across distances from each other The result is a set of articles that are interesting and captivating, and challenge us to examine how the learning of mathematics can and should be affected by today’s technology.

At a time when political interest in mathematics education is at its highest, this book demonstrates that the issues are far from straightforward. A wide range of international contributors address such questions as: What is mathematics, and what is it for? What skills does mathematics education need to provide as technology advances? What are the implications for teacher education? What can we learn from past attempts to change the mathematics curriculum? Rethinking the Mathematics Curriculum offers stimulating discussions, showing much is to be learnt from the differences in culture, national expectations, and political restraints revealed in the book. This accessible book will be of particular interest to policy makers, curriculum developers, educators, researchers and employers as well as the general reader.

With the publication of the National Science Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, a clear set of goals and guidelines for achieving literacy in mathematics and science was established. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs has been developed to help state- and district-level education leaders create coherent, multi-year curriculum programs that provide students with opportunities to learn both mathematics and science in a connected and cumulative way throughout their schooling. Researchers have confirmed that as U.S. students move through the grade levels, they slip further and further behind students of other nations in mathematics and science achievement. Experts now believe that U.S. student performance is hindered by the lack of coherence in the mathematics and science curricula in many American schools. By structuring curriculum programs that capitalize on what students have already learned, the new concepts and processes that they can learn will be richer, more complex, and at a higher level. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs outlines: Components of effective mathematics and science programs. Criteria by which these components can be judged. A process for developing curriculum that is structured, focused, and coherent. Perhaps most important, this book emphasizes the need for designing curricula across the entire 13-year span that our children spend in elementary and secondary school as a way to improve the quality of education. Ultimately, it will help state and district educators use national and state standards to design or re-build mathematics and science curriculum programs that develop new ideas and skills based on earlier onesâ€"from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, year to year. Anyone responsible for designing or influencing mathematics or science curriculum programs will find this guide valuable.

With the publication of the National Science Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, a clear set of goals and guidelines for achieving literacy in mathematics and science was established. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs has been developed to help state- and district-level education leaders create coherent, multi-year curriculum programs that provide students with opportunities to learn both mathematics and science in a connected and cumulative way throughout their schooling. Researchers have confirmed that as U.S. students move through the grade levels, they slip further and further behind students of other nations in mathematics and science achievement. Experts now believe that U.S. student performance is hindered by the lack of coherence in the mathematics and science curricula in many American schools. By structuring curriculum programs that capitalize on what students have already learned, the new concepts and processes that they can learn will be richer, more complex, and at a higher level. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs outlines: Components of effective mathematics and science programs. Criteria by which these components can be judged. A process for developing curriculum that is structured, focused, and coherent. Perhaps most important, this book emphasizes the need for designing curricula across the entire 13-year span that our children spend in elementary and secondary school as a way to improve the quality of education. Ultimately, it will help state and district educators use national and state standards to design or re-build mathematics and science curriculum programs that develop new ideas and skills based on earlier onesâ€"from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, year to year. Anyone responsible for designing or influencing mathematics or science curriculum programs will find this guide valuable.