Foundational numeracy skills and the global learning crisis, a talk by Dr Ricardo Sabates (University of Cambridge)
Abstract
Over the past two decades, efforts to increase participation in education have resulted in millions of children having access to schooling. However, a significant proportion of children who are enrolled in schools are not actually learning even the most basic foundational skills. This issue sounds an alarm of a “global learning crisis” which must be understood and tackled as a matter of priority.
In this talk, I will provide evidence of the extent of the learning crisis, by focusing on children who are in schools and yet unable to perform basic numeracy tasks. I will provide an overview of the tools used to measure foundational numeracy skills in low income countries, and discuss how these tools have been adapted in different contexts. I will examine inequalities in learning basic numeracy skills between and within countries; and how the lack of numeracy skills is persistent among the most disadvantaged children, in particular, those with disabilities. Through this talk, I aim to raise awareness of the extent to which applied mathematics remains inaccessible for many children and young people around the world.
About the Speaker
Dr Ricardo Sabates is a Reader in Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, and a member of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre. Dr Sabates did his doctorate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent his post-doctoral career as a quantitative researcher at UCL’s Institute of Education. His main contribution to the field has been on modelling and measuring the social benefits of education, as well as the educational inequalities in access and learning. His publication, Who gets what? Is improved access to basic education pro-poor in SSA? was awarded the Joyce Caine Award in 2013 for an outstanding scholarly article with a focus on Africa.
No charge is made to attend meetings; non-IMA members are welcome.
