This article describes a limited longitudinal European study of young children’s early numeracy development within three testing cycles, onaverage, at the mid-point and towards the end of their fifth to sixth year and again at the mid-point of their sixth to seventh year. Assessment was carried out using the Utrecht Early Numeracy Test (ENT) (Van Luit, Van de Rijt and Pennings, 1994). The multilevel modelling method of analysis used for the study provided an extension of multiple regression to incorporate the hierarchical structure of the data collected, with boys and girls of different social-economic status, nested within different institutions within different countries. The results showed that the ENT was a useful tool for international comparison. The finding that differences between countrieswere negligible was surprising bearing in mind that the English pupils werein formal schooling throughout the testing cycle, the Belgian, German, Greek and Dutch children from the mid-point, and the Slovene children, not at all.
This study of adults with self-reported learning disabilities (SRLD) in Slovenia is part of a larger secondary analysis of the data from the International Literacy Survey project (IALS). The purpose of the study was to examine the characteristics of 79 (2.68%) individuals who reported experiencing learning disabilities and compare them to the general population on a variety of indicators of educational background, employment status, and reading and writing activities at work and at home. The proficiency scores of the SRLD individuals were lower in all three literacy domains (prose, document and quantitative literacy). In prose literacy 77.9% of SRLD adults performed at Level 1 and only 7.8% reached the level necessary for a modern technological society. Experiencing learning disabilities was not related to gender or age, however, results showed significant differences between the levels achieved by older and younger people with SRLD. In SRLD groups aged 40 years and above, no one achieved more than the second level of literacy in any domain. Learning disabilities were reported more frequently in rural areas. SRLD groups achieve significantly lower educational attainment, and lower employment status, with a preference for manual labour or craft. These findings are of critical importance. SRLD people report that poorer literacy skills are an obstacle to their progression in employment. In the Slovene sample, the SRLD group stands out for low scores in quantitative literacy. Results show that they are less active, pick up information only auditorily or in short written form. They need more frequent help from relatives in literacy activities. Interpretation of the IALS data on SRLD presents many problems. These include amongst others, problems in terminology, different background factors, and the validity of self-report measures. However, the study also raises many interesting challenges for future research and policy. Increasing the availability of support, assistance and counselling for adolescents and adults with learning disabilities remains a very important goal for dyslexia and LD policies in Slovenia.
health psychology report • volume (), 4 original article background Difficulties in solving mathematical word problems (MWP) are one of the most common reasons for weak mathematics performance, and poor mathematical literacy has important implications for an individual's further education, employment opportunities, mental health and quality of life in today's modern technological society. The purpose of the study was to examine whether Slovenian good and poor MWP solvers differ in arithmetic knowledge and skills, non-verbal reasoning, pupils' self-evaluations of MWP abilities, teachers' assessment of their mathematical knowledge and what strategies fifthgrade learners use in solving MWP.
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