Merging Numeracy with Literacy Practices for Equity in Multilingual Early Year Settings

Robyn Jorgensen(Zevenbergen) is Emeritus Professor at the University of Canberra. She has been researching equity in mathematics since commencing her career. She has worked with low SES, rural and more recently with Indigenous communities. She seeks to understand the practices that contribute to the marginalization of learners and to bring about changes in those practices. She has recently completed a large national study on successful numeracy practices in remote Indigenous communities. She has a very strong publication record and has been the recipient of 13 Australian Research Council grants. She was the Editor-in-Chief for the Mathematics Education Research Journal and is on a number of Editorial boards for internationally renowned journals. Mellony Graven is a full Professor at Rhodes University and holds the South African Numeracy Chair (SANC). Her research team includes several masters, doctoral and post-doctoral students. Her SANC project runs multiple programs with teachers, learners, teacher advisors and communities. She is the past president of the Southern African Association of Mathematics Science and Technology Education (2012-2014) and founding editor of the journal Learning and Teaching Mathematics. She is on the editorial board of the journals: Educational Studies in Mathematics (ESM); For the Learning of Mathematics; Mathematics Education Research Journal and Mathematics Teacher Education and Development. She has served as guest editor for special issues of several journals including ESM and ZDM. Mellony’s passion and work focuses on the creation of a hub of mathematical activity, passion and innovation that blends teacher and learner numeracy development with research focused on searching for sustainable ways forward to the challenges of mathematics education.

Section One: Theories that Frame Our Work: Introduction.- From Exclusion to Inclusion for Marginalised Learners – Theoretical Perspectives.- The Literacy of Numeracy Practices in Multilingual Early Years Settings.- Section 2: Story-based Resources for Developing Number Sense and Reasoning: Exploring Numeracy-Rich Rhymes and Stories.- Designing and Creating Maths-Rich Storybooks, Games and Related Activities.- A Resource Approach to Extending Numeracy Engagement beyond School.- Section Three: Engaging with the Formal Language of School Mathematics: Learning the Academic Language of Mathematics.- Big Books in a Multilingual Context.- Mathematical Language Immersion Learning Environments.- Section Four: Ubuntu and Community Links: Embracing Ubuntu in Community Partnerships.

“This book may be recommended most for educators, including teachers and administrators, but also researchers interested in numeracy and literacy for young learners. … It is here that chapters are rich with specific examples, resources, pictures, and other invaluable resources that may help educators better support their multicultural and multilingual students in a variety of settings. Researchers will find similar value in these concrete examples … .” (Cristina Runnalls, MAA Reviews, June 18, 2023)