Marguerite Maher
Auckland University of Technology

The Numeracy Project, as implemented in New Zealand, aims to enhance the numeracy achievement of all students and to foster parental involvement in their children’s mathematics learning. This paper reports the findings of a study that took place at a high socioeconomic status (SES) primary school in New Zealand with teachers and parents of Years 1 and 2 students. Findings showed that teachers felt more confident in their ability to teach literacy than to teach numeracy. They also believed they were not fully meeting the needs of the lower achievers in mathematics. Partnership with parents in the teaching of reading was well-established but was less apparent in mathematics. Parental involvement was seen to be a dynamic force in the progress of those students who took part in a mathematics intervention program. Results from the mathematics intervention are reported.