Chinese Students' Higher Achievement In Mathematics: Comparison Of Mathematics Education Of Australian And Chinese Primary Schools

Mathematics Education – An Asian Perspective Dacheng Zhao Chinese Students’ Higher Achievement in Mathematics Comparison of Mathematics Education of Australian and Chinese Primary Schools Mathematics Education – An Asian Perspective Series editors Berinderjeet Kaur, National Institute of Education, Singapore, Singapore Catherine Vistro-Yu, Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, Philippines Aims and Scope Mathematics Education – An Asian Perspective facilitates high quality publications on rigorous aspects of mathematics education in Asia. This will be achieved by producing thematic books that capture knowledge and practices on mathematics education in Asia from both the insider and outsider perspectives. The series helps to establish a much needed Asian perspective to mathematics education research in the international landscape. Over the last decade or so, several international comparative studies have shed light on systems of schooling that were otherwise not very much sought after. Several educational systems in Asia, in particular East Asia have consistently produced stellar outcomes for mathematics in both TIMSS and PISA despite the fact that both studies measure achievement in mathematics in distinct ways that are very much orthogonal to each other, while other Asian systems have not been able to replicate the same level of success. Though one may occasionally chance upon a publication on some aspect of mathematics education in Asia, there appears to be in general a dearth of publications on mathematics education in Asian countries from the perspectives of scholars from Asia. Hence it is apparent that there is a gap in the availability of knowledge on mathematics education from the region in the international space. This series has a wide scope with emphasis on relevancy and timeliness. It encompasses the general trends in educational research such as theory, practice and policy. Books in the series are thematic and focus both on macro and micro topics. An example of a themed book on a macro topic could be one on “School mathematic curricula – An Asian perspective” while a themed book on a micro topic could be one on “The pedagogy of ‘simultaneous equations’ in Asian classrooms”. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11679 Dacheng Zhao Chinese Students’ Higher Achievement in Mathematics Comparison of Mathematics Education of Australian and Chinese Primary Schools 123 Dacheng Zhao Aussie-Sino Studies Kingswood, NSW Australia ISSN 2366-0155 ISSN 2366-0163 (electronic) Mathematics Education – An Asian Perspective ISBN 978-981-10-0283-0 ISBN 978-981-10-0285-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0285-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015958538 © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation,