ABSTRACT

This chapter encourages prospective and practising teachers to identify and refine their personal conception of numeracy. It begins by exploring the origins of numeracy as a concept and comparing some of the common definitions and terminologies for describing numeracy. The chapter aims to look for examples of numeracy in a range of real-life contexts to highlight the important distinction between numeracy and mathematics. Although numeracy is a term used in many English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, in the United States and elsewhere it is more common to speak of quantitative literacy or mathematical literacy. The Australian description of numeracy highlights its role in helping people meet the general demands of life in three different contexts: home, work, and community and civic life. Numeracy is vital for critical citizenship, because almost every public issue depends on data for constructing arguments to inform, persuade or shape decision-making.