Within the Erasmus+ project Common European Numeracy Framework (CENF) (2018-2021) a framework was developed on numeracy in response to the challenges and needs of the 21st century.
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This paper is a discussion paper to support an Erasmus+ project with the name Common European Numeracy Framework (CENF) (for adults) which will start at the end of the year 2018. In the first months of 2019 the team with participants from The Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Ireland will be in the process of collecting European examples of numeracy practices and current numeracy frameworks. At the conference we will show the results of this collection to date and the initial outline of a tentative CENF. We intend to spark comments, suggestions and insights from the participants of TWG07 - Adults Mathematics Education - to enrich the collection and as feedback on the initial outline of the CENF. Another aim is to create a network of national or regional stakeholders which will support the development of a shared framework for numeracy goals and numeracy education for adults in the 21st century.
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To make effective financial decisions, individuals need both financial and numerical competence. The latter includes having numerical knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a financial context. A positive attitude towards numbers, combined with the absence of math anxiety, proves beneficial. Additionally, higher-order numerical skills enhance the quality of financial decision-making. Challenges in any of these numeracy aspects may contribute to financial difficulties. However, the specific aspects of numeracy that are of crucial importance remain unclear. Therefore, our research addresses the question: Which aspects of numeracy are related to having financial problems? In this article, we explore this question through a literature review.
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Introduction: The contemporary scientific literature indicates that numeracy is a multifaceted concept. The ongoing societal and technological transformations underscore the imperative to re-evaluate the attributes characterizing a numerate individual and the strategic initiatives that policymakers should devise and implement to ensure that individuals are not marginalized from participation in public and private domains due to their lack of numeracy proficiency. Numerous empirical investigations on numeracy consistently affirm its pivotal role in enabling individuals to engage autonomously across diverse contexts within their daily lives. However, numeracy’s fundamental role has often been neglected in our societies. The present study scrutinizes the overarching challenges associated with numeracy, particularly emphasizing the challenges regarding healthcare, finance, and the critical utilization and interpretation of data awareness. Methods: A two-phase research framework was adopted to address this inquiry. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to discern the prevalent challenges regarding numeracy awareness. Subsequently, two illustrative case studies were undertaken in Slovenia and Spain to contrast and deliberate upon the insights derived from the literature review. Qualitative research methods were employed to engage in a nuanced exploration of the gathered data. Results: This empirical analysis deduced guidelines aimed at enhancing awareness and ameliorating some of these challenges. Discussion and Conclusion: We conclude that making visible the awareness that adults already have about numeracy in aspects of their lives, such as finance, health, or the use and critical interpretation of data, can give policymakers and curriculum developers clues to design effective numeracy programs to address the multifaceted challenges confronting contemporary society, both in the immediate and foreseeable future.
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The aim of this paper is to present materials designed for adult numeracy training. In the successive Erasmus+ projects, "The Common European Numeracy Framework" (2018-2021) and "Numeracy in Practice" (2022-2024), professional development modules have been designed for teachers specialising in adult numeracy education. The primary objective of these modules is to enhance teacher awareness of the competencies required for teaching numeracy and to address the changing demands of numeracy in adults’ personal and professional lives.
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This paper explores the contributions of research to the field of adults learning mathematics (ALM) in the last twenty years. The results of the review of the literature on ALM show that the most cited studies that have been published in the last twenty years tend to focus on the field of numeracy to understand health data (such as understanding how to dose a medicine in a medical treatment). However, we know little about key aspects of how adults learn mathematics, what obstacles they encounter, and how they overcome them. This paper identifies the main gaps that ALM research faces in the coming years.
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Presentation at the ALM28 Conference: Numeracy and Vulnerability, 5-7 july, Universität Hamburg, Germany.
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Technology, data use, and digitisation are based on mathematical structures, and this permeates many aspects of our daily lives: apps, online activities, and all kinds of communication. Equipping people to deal with this mathematisation of society is a big challenge. Which competences are needed, which skills must be mastered? Which dispositions are helpful? These are the questions that matter in the development of adult education. The concept of numeracy is mentioned already for many years as a possible useful approach to equip adults with the necessary skills. In this paper we will argue that is only true when numeracy is defined as a multifaceted concept which combines knowledges, skills, higher order skills, context and dispositions.
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This paper is a summary paper of the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Adult Mathematics Education (AME). The theme AME made its first appearance on CERME11 and in this paper we provide an overview of the growing and blossoming field of AME and the results of the working group. The main themes associated with AME are: the definition, scope, and assessment of numeracy, the role of language and dialogue, the role of affect, including motivation, and the role of societal power structures, including subthemes like equity, inclusion, vulnerable learners, agency and self-efficacy. We conclude with the opportunities and challenges for this theme from both scientific and societal perspective.
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Laaggecijferdheid is een belangrijk onderwerp voor onderzoek, want het leven van laaggecijferde personen brengt grote uitdagingen met zich mee. Tot nu toe gaat de meeste aandacht van onderzoekers naar laaggeletterdheid. In deze onderzoeken is er soms ook aandacht voor laaggecijferdheid, maar dit is meestal slechts een klein deel van het onderzoek. Gelukkig is er binnen en buiten Nederland wel een aantal onderzoekers die zich bezighouden met gecijferdheid, zodat we toch een theoretische basis hebben. Dit whitepaper geeft een overzicht van (een deel) van de onderzoeken rondom (laag)gecijferdheid. Allereerst een overzicht van Nederlandse onderzoeken, die een beeld geven van de situatie in Nederland. Daarbij aandacht voor feiten en beleid, maar ook voor didactische vaardigheden en praktische tips. Als tweede een selectie van internationaal onderzoek. Hierbij blijkt dat het gebrek aan aandacht voor gecijferdheid een gedeeld probleem is. Desondanks zijn er mooie onderzoeken gedaan die nuttig kunnen zijn voor de Nederlandse situatie. In het derde onderdeel van dit paper is er ruimte voor gerelateerd onderzoek. Deze onderzoeken richten zich in eerste instantie niet op laaggeletterdheid, maar er worden interessante dingen gezegd over reke-nen of over mensen met lage vaardigheden in het algemeen. Van deze artikelen is geen samenvatting gemaakt, maar slechts een citaat weergegeven. Als vierde volgt een overzicht van beschikbare materia-len die in gecijferheidsonderwijs voor volwassen gebruikt kunnen worden. Dit whitepaper is een document dat in beweging is. De verwachting is dat (laag)gecijferdheid in toene-mende mate in de belangstelling staat en er ook meer onderzoek naar gedaan zal worden. Het aantal interessante publicaties zal toenemen en de intentie is om dit document regelmatig te herzien.
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