Inclusive mathematics education

In 2008, the Australian Government, in common with many other countries, ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (CRPD) and has since voiced its commitment to inclusive education in key documents and policies. While achieving genuine inclusive education is a pressing moral, political and humanitarian imperative, internationally, there is little published research with respect to the question of how to realise inclusive mathematics educations in schools. In the meantime, teachers at all levels struggle to meet the challenge of providing a high-quality inclusive mathematics education that enables all students to thrive. This MERJ Special Issue on Inclusive Mathematics Education publishes new international research and scholarship to better illuminate this field of research, with a focus on highlighting teaching approaches and curricula that enable mathematics learning for all children in inclusive settings. As editors of this Special Issue, our goal was to reflect the breadth and diversity of the topic with respect to methodological approaches, curricula and international contexts when inviting and selecting the contributing authors from seven different countries and four continents. We were guided by a broad understanding of inclusion that is not limited to students with disabilities but considers learners with diverse abilities and special rights for learning mathematics. We also wanted to pay tribute and attention to teachers and their work towards developing practices that include all learners in genuine opportunities to learn mathematics. In providing an overview of the contributions to this Special Issue, we begin with Rachel Lambert (University of California) and Paulo Tan (University of Hawai’i) who present a systematic review of international research on the teaching and learning of mathematics from pre-kindergarten to year 12, using a Disability Studies in Education Mathematics Education Research Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00315-0