[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-588510-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-588510-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","what-is-specific-about-research-in-adult-numeracy-and-mathematics-education","What is specific about research in adult numeracy and mathematics education","","After decades of neglect, adult numeracy and mathematics education are increasingly treated as legitimate topics for serious research, yet the field faces major conceptual challenges. The article asks what is specific about research in adult numeracy and mathematics education, surveys approaches to conceptualising the area, and evaluates how these conceptualisations shape both research agendas and broader development of the field, including links to practice and policy.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/what-is-specific-about-research-in-adult-numeracy-and-mathematics-education/588510/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/what-is-specific-about-research-in-adult-numeracy-and-mathematics-education/588510.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Putri","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why is adult numeracy and mathematics education considered worthy of serious research now?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"After decades of neglect, the area is increasingly recognised as important and is being placed on the educational research map, alongside growing international interest in research and development in this field.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What conceptual difficulties beset research in this area?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The article highlights that adult numeracy and mathematics education research is “beset by conceptual difficulties,” making it hard to define what is specific and how studies should be framed for research purposes.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the field connect adult mathematics education with wider educational research?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The text situates adult numeracy and mathematics education within lifelong education and lifelong learning, linking it to ideas such as equality of educational opportunity and democratisation of education.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},588510,1792116697,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962085571259,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","What is specific about research in adult numeracy and mathematics education?  \nDiana Coben  \nKing’s College London, UK  \n\u003C[Diana.Coben@kcl.ac.uk](Diana.Coben@kcl.ac.uk)>  \nAbstract  \nAfter decades of neglect, adult numeracy and mathematics education are coming to be recognised as worthy of serious research but the area is beset by conceptual difficulties. Adult numeracy and mathematics may at last be ‘on the educational research map’, but where exactly are they on the map? This article explores the question of what is specific about research in adult numeracy and mathematics education. It reviews ways of conceptualising adult numeracy and mathematics education for research purposes and considers the implications of these conceptualisations for research and for the development of the field.  \nKey words: conceptualisations, adult numeracy, mathematics education, policy, research, development frameworks  \nIntroduction  \nIn the latest International Handbook of Research on Mathematics Education, it is suggested that:  \n• ….adult mathematics teaching and learning deserve attention in their own right;  \n• practice and research in adult mathematics education demand a broad conception of mathematics that is not limited to specialized mathematics…;  \n• there is a coalition of interests in the field across a wide spectrum of related or contributing disciplines;  \n• there is a recognition that research must be closely linked with practice in a field where development and improvement in practice have priority status; and  \n• the community of researchers is truly international...  \n(FitzSimons, Coben, & O'Donoghue, 2003, p.117)  \nThe inclusion of an adult-focussed chapter in the International Handbook attests to the growing international recognition of the importance of research and development in this area. While most research about mathematics education focuses on children (Dossey, 1992), adult mathematics teaching and learning both deserve, and are beginning to receive attention in their own right. Adult numeracy and mathematics are at last ‘on the educational research map’, but where exactly are they on the map and what is specific about research in this area?  \nIn attempting to answer these questions, I shall first explore debates in the international research community, including the relationship between numeracy, mathematics, adult literacy  \n18 Adults Learning Mathematics – an International Journal  \nand lifelong education, before turning to consider what kind of studies should be prioritised, given that “research must be closely linked with practice in a field where development and improvement in practice have priority status”(FitzSimons et al., 2003, p.117) .  \nAdult numeracy and mathematics teaching and learning  \nThe conception of mathematics implied by adult mathematics education is broad and inclusive, encompassing diverse areas of activity, including:  \nspecialized mathematics and service mathematics (as in higher education), school mathematics, vocational mathematics, street mathematics, mathematics for everyday living, and adult numeracy.(FitzSimons et al., 2003)  \nAgainst this background, the specificity of adult numeracy and mathematics teaching and learning is the subject of a wide-ranging and passionate debate amongst researchers and practitioners, much of it conducted through Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum (ALM) .  \nA key feature of the debate has been attempts to map the position of adult numeracy and mathematics teaching and learning (which I shall abbreviate to ANMTL) in relation to neighbouring fields of research and practice in order to establish what is specific about it. In one sense this is a question of positioning ANMTL amongst what Becher calls the ‘academic tribes and territories’ (Becher, 1989; Becher & Trowler, 2001) . It matters because if research in ANMTL is to develop and inform practice and policy, it needs to have a sound academic base. Arguably this is what has been happening throug","cbCaibCdzplLRBqQ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaibCdzplLRBqQ","pdf",264771,15,"English","# Introduction\n## Adult numeracy and mathematics teaching and learning\n## Positioning adult numeracy and mathematics education (ANMTL)","[{\"question\":\"Why is adult numeracy and mathematics education considered worthy of serious research now?\",\"answer\":\"After decades of neglect, the area is increasingly recognised as important and is being placed on the educational research map, alongside growing international interest in research and development in this field.\"},{\"question\":\"What conceptual difficulties beset research in this area?\",\"answer\":\"The article highlights that adult numeracy and mathematics education research is “beset by conceptual difficulties,” making it hard to define what is specific and how studies should be framed for research purposes.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the field connect adult mathematics education with wider educational research?\",\"answer\":\"The text situates adult numeracy and mathematics education within lifelong education and lifelong learning, linking it to ideas such as equality of educational opportunity and democratisation of education.\"}]","What is specific about research in adult numeracy and mathematics education | PDF",1792065390,38]