The chapters in this book investigate and reflect on many of the issues and challenges raised by the current trends and tensions in early childhood mathematics education. They emanate from seven countries – Australia, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Ever since Fröbel invented the kindergarten, mathematics has been a part of early childhood pedagogy. Mathematics is an important part of children’s daily life, which helps them to understand the world around them. Nowadays, early childhood mathematics is in the international spotlight. Partly this is the result of myriad studies that seem to show that early childhood mathematics achievement is a strong predictor of success or otherwise in future school mathematics, other school subjects, and life itself. Another influence on early childhood mathematics education is the advent of the political and advocacy juggernaut known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Early childhood mathematics education is important for children’s present and future learning. This book provides a strong collection of current research for the consideration of all in the early childhood education field. It was originally published as a special issue of the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal.

School readiness is as much about schools recognizing the existing capabilities and knowledge each child has when they enter school as it is about supporting children and families in their preparation for entering formal learning environments. Effective approaches that address learning variability must take these differences into account, recognizing and leveraging opportunities inherent in the child’s ecosystem of resources. The Handbook of Research on Innovative Approaches to Early Childhood Development and School Readiness assembles the most current research and thought-leadership on the ways in which innovative education stakeholders are working together to impact the most critical years in a child’s life—the years leading up to and including kindergarten. Covering topics such as change agency, experience quality, and social-emotional development, this book is a crucial resource for educational researchers, child development professionals, school administrators, pre-K teachers, pre-service teachers, program managers, policymakers, non-profit service organizations, early childhood EdTech developers, curriculum developers, and academicians.

This edited volume brings together international research that explores children’s creativity in STEM inquiry. It takes the position that creativity is relevant in all aspects of life and is essential for adaptable and innovative thinking. The research informed content of the book, highlights both challenges and opportunities for growing children’s creativity. The book focuses on fostering children’s creativity and natural curiosity in the world around them through STEM inquiry. Through STEM inquiry, children are learning through a cross- disciplinary approach where they apply concepts from multiple fields as they are thinking creatively, problem solving and constructing solutions. Educators play a critical role in encouraging children’s creativity by modelling creativity, providing creative projects for children and importantly, establishing rich culturally connected environments where children have the resources, conditions and opportunities for acting and thinking creatively. The book provides a lens for looking at children’s creativity in a range of different cultural settings. It offers insight and guidance to future research and will build educators’ capacity for developing children’s creative practices.

Every four years, beginning in 1984, the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) produces a review of Australasian research in mathematics education. The authors of the chapters in this volume have summarised and critiqued research conducted during the period 2004-2007.

This is the eighth edition of the four-yearly review of mathematics education research in Australasia. Commissioned by the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), this review critiques the most current Australasian research in mathematics education in the four years from 2008-2011. The main objective of this review is to celebrate and recognise significant findings; highlight relationships between research; identify themes; and forecast further research directions. This theme-based review has produced a comprehensive analysis of Australasian research in a politically challenging time—producing a manuscript with implications for a wider, international, audience. As the 2009 Felix Klein medal winner Gilah Leder states: A substantial body of research is captured in the chapters of this review. It encompasses the labours of a community of active researchers, with varied interests and diverse theoretical perspectives. Some of the issues explored in the period covered by this volume clearly resonate with questions and concerns particularly pertinent to the changing educational environment; others are more aptly described as continuing or renewed explorations of areas of long standing concern.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Technology and Innovation in Learning, Teaching and Education, TECH-EDU 2022, was held in Lisbon, Portugal, in August/September 2022. The 21 full papers and 18 short paper presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 80 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Emergent technologies in education; Online learning and blended learning; Computer science education and STEM; Digital tools and STEM learning; ICT and critical thinking in higher education; Digital transformation in higher education; Artificial Intelligence in Education.

This edited book promotes thinking, dialogue, research and theorisation on multiple ways of making connections in mathematics teaching and learning in early childhood education. The book addresses some key challenges in research, policy and practice in early childhood mathematics education. It examines diverse ways for learning experiences to connect young children to mathematics, and the importance of forging connections between mathematics and young children’s lives as key elements in their engagement with mathematics. Each chapter provides research or theoretical provocations and pedagogical implications for connecting children’s lived experiences and ways of learning in mathematics teaching. The chapters are drawn from a range of international authors who raise important ideas within the overall context of current research and consider the theoretical and practical implications of their research. As such, the book advances current thinking on mathematics teaching and learning for children in the early years from birth to eight years with an emphasis on children aged birth to 5 years. It considers the purpose and value in connecting mathematics teaching and learning to children’s lives, and provides provocations for both educators and researchers on the many under-researched and under-represented aspects of early years mathematics teaching and learning.

This state-of-the-art Handbook brings together important mathematics education research that makes a difference in both theory and practice--research that: anticipates problems and needed knowledge before they become impediments to progress; interprets future-oriented problems into researchable issues; presents the implications of research and theory development in forms that are useful to practitioners and policymakers; and facilitates the development of research communities to focus on neglected priorities or strategic opportunities. The volume represents a genuine attempt by contributors from around the world to advance the discipline, rather than simply review what has been done and what exists. The Handbook was developed in response to a number of major global catalysts for change, including the impact of national and international mathematics comparative assessment studies; the social, cultural, economic, and political influences on mathematics education and research; the influence of progressively sophisticated and available technology; and the increasing globalization of mathematics education and research. From these catalysts have emerged specific priority themes and issues for mathematics education research in the 21st century. Three key themes were identified for attention in this volume: life-long democratic access to powerful mathematical ideas; advances in research methodologies; and influences of advanced technologies. Each of these themes is examined in terms of learners, teachers, and learning contexts, with theory development as an important component of all these aspects. Dynamic and forward looking, the Handbook of International Research in Mathematics Education is distinguished by its focus on new and emerging theoretical models, perspectives, and research methodologies; its uniformly high standard of scholarship; and its emphasis on the international nature of mathematics education research. It is an essential volume for all researchers, professionals, and students interested in mathematics education research in particular and, more generally, in international developments and future directions in the broad field of educational research.

Early childhood education has reached a level of unprecedented national and international focus. Parents, policy makers, and politicians have opinions as well as new questions about what, how, when, and where young children should learn. Teachers and program administrators now find curriculum discussions linked to dramatic new understandings about children's early learning and brain development. Early childhood education is also a major topic of concern internationally, as social policy analysts point to its role in a nation's future economic outlook. As a groundbreaking contribution to its field, this four-volume handbook discusses key historical and contemporary issues, research, theoretical perspectives, national policies, and practices.

The book provides the reader with a multifaceted picture of mathematics education in Israel, put into an international perspective where relevant. It is intended to give an overview of a wide range of topics covering issues such as raising and maintaining motivation, search for excellence, treatment of difficulties, teacher education, language issues, minorities issues, curriculum changes over the first 70 years of the state of Israel, and many more. This includes aspects of research and practice into the teaching and learning of mathematics, innovation, developments, policy, achievements, and implementation with some international comparison as well.