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Quality Education pp 579–589Cite as

Numeracy and the Education Value Chain

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definition of Numeracy

This section discusses views on the existing definitions of numeracy and its related components. The discussion focuses on what it means to be numerate, knowledge and skills to be numerate, and the cognitive as well as affective factors related to be numerate.

Numeracy is not a subset of mathematics, but they are interrelated. All numeracy is underpinned by some mathematics, hence the “basic mathematics” needed for every day or perhaps the basic building blocks of mathematics and involving a grasp of the interplay between mathematics and the social contexts within which it is used (Neill 2001; Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers 1997; Malaysia Ministry of Education 2010, 2011; Ministry of Education New Zealand 2012).

Further, while knowledge of mathematics is necessary for numeracy (Neill 2001), having that knowledge is not in itself sufficient to ensure that learners become numerate. A numerate person has the capacity to bridge the gap between...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Munirah Ghazali

  2. RCE Penang@USM, Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

    Munirah Ghazali

Authors
  1. Munirah Ghazali
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Correspondence to Munirah Ghazali .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökçin Özuyar

  5. University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. CHC Higher Education, Brisbane/Carindale, QLD, Australia

    Johannes M. Luetz

  2. University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Johannes M. Luetz

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Ghazali, M. (2020). Numeracy and the Education Value Chain. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Quality Education. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95870-5_86

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