The beneficial role that children's literature plays in facilitating the meaningful integration and advancement of literacy and numeracy in the primary mathematics classroom has been well validated by research findings internationally. In Ireland, supporting the development of literacy and numeracy is a key educational priority. Consequently, a myriad of policy initiatives such as the Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life strategy have been introduced. All aim to address concerns about young people's lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills and to consider new teaching and learning modalities to enhance same. Despite this, no official emphasis is given to incorporating literature in the Irish primary school mathematics curriculum. Therefore, it is pertinent and timely that this study seeks to ascertain pre-service and in-service teachers' views on the use of literature to support mathematics teaching and learning and to investigate perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children' literature in the mathematics classroom in Ireland. The analysis of the findings will be framed using Ajzen (1991)'s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model. This research is part of a large international research collaboration (see www.mathsthroughstories.org), in which the beliefs of teachers with respect to children's literature are investigated.

The transition from primary to secondary education tends to have deleterious effects on student achievement and motivation in mathematics, and these effects have been significantly linked to lack of curricular and pedagogical continuity at transition. Curricular and pedagogical practices in each phase of schooling are influenced by a number of factors including, for example, teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, and a range of other school and societal level characteristics. We propose a novel theoretical framework for studying continuity of learning experiences during primary/secondary transition in mathematics which takes cognisance of these factors. The framework is based on aspects of the so-called anthropological theory of didactics, which acknowledge that mathematics learning and teaching are human activities that cannot be divorced from the broader organisational, societal and cultural contexts within which they occur; teacher attributes; and Dewey's principle of continuity of experience. Potential applications of the framework to other forms of educational transition are also signposted.

The school system in both the Republic of Ireland [ROI] and Northern Ireland [NI] is configured to accommodate children into discrete educational bands at different stages on their learning journey. Research has consistently shown that the transition from primary to postprimary, which typically occurs between the ages of 11 and 13, is the most challenging transition with the negative effects more pronounced for mathematics than any other subject. This cross-border study investigates this transition in mathematics education from the final year of primary school to first year of post-primary school from the perspective of teachers involved with these year groups. It examines teachers' knowledge of the mathematics curriculum and teaching strategies employed in the other phase. The majority of primary teachers reported being unfamiliar with the curriculum and teaching approaches employed in the first year of post-primary and the differences between the two jurisdictions were not significant. However, a difference was noted in the responses of second level teachers. Teachers in NI appeared more confident in their knowledge of the curriculum and teaching approaches adopted in the final year of primary school than their ROI colleagues. In this paper, the authors will elaborate on these findings; outline possible reasons for the differences across jurisdictions and share what impact teacher knowledge is having on classroom practices.

This paper reports on research which explored the mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of preservice primary teachers, where efficacy beliefs describe individuals’ beliefs in their potential to enact teaching to promote learning. Efficacy was conceptualised as a bi-faceted construct consisting of personal efficacy and outcome expectancy. This research sought to establish the extent to which differences in efficacy are explained by students’ mathematics attainment level prior to entry into teacher education; the educational level of the students (whether postgraduate or undergraduate); students’ sense of preparedness to teach mathematics on school placement; and students’ gender. A total of 186 students responded to a questionnaire designed to measure their efficacy beliefs after completing one taught mathematics education module in university and one teaching practice placement in primary schools. Bivariate and regression analysis pointed to complex relationships between the explanatory and outcome variables. On bivariate analysis, findings included statistically significant associations between gender, mathematics attainment, preparedness to teach, and one or both of personal efficacy and outcome expectancy. In the regression analysis, gender was statistically significantly associated with outcome expectancy, while preparedness to teach and mathematics attainment were statistically significantly correlated with personal efficacy. Personal efficacy and outcome expectancy were significantly correlated on bivariate analysis, but significance was not retained after controlling for other factors in the regression models. This research has implications for teacher educators in understanding factors explaining mathematics teaching efficacy and therefore helping to better prepare preservice teachers to teach mathematics in the primary school classroom.

No abstract