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This publication contains two papers on the implications of school decentralization for teacher education, student achievement, and democracy. The first paper, "Devolution in Education Systems: Implications for Teacher Professional Development and Pupil Performance" (Geoff Whitty), explores the way education reform movements for decentralization have developed generally by looking at how reforms have worked in England with some cross references to experiences in New Zealand and the United States. In doing so it reviews several studies and discusses the context in which reforms were installed. The conclusion notes that the overall benefits are not yet apparent and that reforms seem to intensify the links between educational and social inequality. The paper also notes that these reforms were part of a larger Thatcherite political project that must have influenced their effects. The second paper, "Decentralisation and Democracy" (Terri Seddon), argues that current educational reform is limited by its neglect of the interdependencies of development, democracy, and education; and that the character of decentralization is the key issue for debate. In three sections the paper comments on contemporary educational reform in Australia, discusses the consequences of decentralization for democracy, and suggests a way to reframe the problem of education reform to recognize the interdependency of development and democracy. (Contains 53 references.) (JB)

This collection of conference papers from New Zealand's Early Childhood Development Unit's November 1992 Parent Support Conference and the Parenting Promotion Launch presents a wide range of views on parenting and shows the support available for parents from numerous organizations. The conference began 2 weeks of activities throughout New Zealand to encourage parents to become involved with their children. The following papers are included: (1) "Positive Parenting" (opening address by Jenny Shipley); (2) "Creating Pathways to Empower Parents" (keynote address by Douglas Powell); (3) "Parents...Parenting" (keynote address by Rose Pere); (4) "Plunket in the Nineties" (Gill Cleland and Helen Corrigan); (5) "A Community Based Approach to Parent Support" (Jan Gerritsen); (6) "Support for Parents of Children with Special Needs" (Denise Gibbard and Sharon Brandford); (7) "Parents as First Teachers Pilot Project" (Janice Grigor); (8) "Anau Ako Pasifika" (Puroku Hall and Lineahi Lund), which is a home-based early childhood care program; (9) "Parent Education: An Experiment of Nature or by Design?" (Bruce McMillan); and (10) "Early Childhood Development Unit Parent Support Projects" (Huhana Rokx and Meagan Pene). Speaker profiles and three Parenting Promotion Launch speeches are also included. (MM)

Focusing on the role of the federal government in maintaining quality in early childhood education, these proceedings present introductory remarks followed by 10 seminar papers: (1) "The Role of Government in Early Childhood: Support and Advice for Serving Parents and Communities," (Pamela Kennedy); (2) "What Is the Government's Role in Early Childhood Education? Education Review Office and the Early Childhood Sector," (Jeanette Schollum); (3) "Back, Against the Wall. Staffing and the Quality of Early Childhood Education: The Impact of Government Policy," (Linda Mitchell); (4) "Government's Role in the Funding of the Kohanga Reo," (Peggy Luke-Ngaheke); (5) "The Role of Government in Early Childhood Curriculum in Aotearoa-New Zealand," (Margaret Carr and Helen May); (6) "What Can the North American Experience Teach Us in the 1990s?" (Heather McDonald); (7) "Government's Role in Early Childhood Education: A Comparative Perspective from Western Australia," (Joy Cullen); (8) "Government's Role in Early Childhood and the First Years of School," (Helen Duncan); (9) "The Role of the Church and Government in Promoting Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa," (Fereni Pepe Ete); and (10) "Provision, Accountability and Quality: Let's Not Undervalue Children," (Rahera Barrett Douglas). (BCY)

The interactional role of language use in the mathematics classroom is explored in the last few decades. This paper adds to the knowledge base by exploring different ways of talking that children and their teacher use in a New Zealand primary geometry English-medium classroom. Bakhtin's concept of speech genres is used for an analysing transcript of one audiovisually recorded whole-class interaction episode from a geometry lesson in a Year 5/6 classroom. The analysis suggests that the teacher and children use various genres to participate in classroom interactions. The use of several genres provides insights into what children and the teacher construct as mathematical in the real sense. The paper finished with a few implications for teaching and research.

International large-scale assessments, such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), are a crucial source of information for education researchers and policymakers. The assessment also includes a student questionnaire, however, the data can be biased by the differences in reporting behavior between students. In this paper, we analyse differences in response styles of students in the Czech Republic and New Zealand based on data gathered in PISA 2018. The results show that Czech students use, on average, the acquiescence response style (ARS) and extreme response style (ERS) less than their counterparts in New Zealand. Contrarily, Czech students use, on average, the disacquiescence response style (DARS) more than students from New Zealand. A closer analysis according to the school type in the Czech Republic, showed that students from 4-year secondary general schools score, on average, the highest on ARS and ERS, but the lowest on DARS among all school types. The analysis in New Zealand according to the Year of study showed that students in Years 12-13 score, on average, the highest on ARS and ERS among all Year-of-study groups, the DARS values being similar across the Year-of-study groups. The mean ARS and ERS of each of the Czech school types remains below that of any of the New Zealand Year-of-study groups. For DARS, the mean score of the highest-scoring Year-of-study group in New Zealand (Years 9-10) remains below that of the lowest-scoring Czech school type (4-year secondary general school). Analysis of response styles is a crucial tool for the identification of some of the potential biases in student-reported data. Future research should take the differences in student reporting behavior into account and perhaps also employ other methodological approaches for their identification, such as the overclaiming technique. [For the complete Volume 21 proceedings, see ED629259.]

In this paper, we explore how students' algebraic noticing's and explanations changed across a two-year period with the introduction of designed instructional material. The data in this report is drawn from n=53 Year 7-8 students' responses to a free-response assessment task across two different years. Analysis focused on how students noticed and explained algebraic relationships in pairs of equivalent equations. Findings indicate that with the introduction of designed instructional material, there was a shift in student noticing of number properties to identify equivalence between pairs of equations. However, identifying the distributive property of multiplication and developing generalisations about the algebraic relationships remained challenging for students.

This paper describes results from a case study about how a primary pre-service teacher (PST) used curriculum materials (CMs) when planning for a mathematics lesson during her final practicum. The data is drawn from a doctoral study (in progress) and results show how the PST initiated an active process of searching for and sifting through CMs on a familiar website to make selections for a lesson. Selections were based on several aspects, including the mathematics focus of her lesson, curriculum connections, her chosen teaching approach and mathematical representation for teaching multiplication. Implications for mathematics Initial Teacher Educators (ITEs) are discussed.

For learners to be individuals equipped with the 21st-century skills when they start business life after graduation, they must be able to gain these skills during their education. However, due to their nature, it's not possible for students to acquire these skills under a specific course. For these skills to be achieved, they must be integrated across all curricula. In this study, an evaluation was conducted to see whether various countries incorporate the 21st-century skills in their curricula, how these skills are applied, and how these skills should be handled in their curricula. Within the scope of this research, the curricula applied in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Ireland, and Turkey were examined. When the 12 skills defined by the P21 platform are considered, it can be seen that all skills are interconnected and that one cannot fully exist without the other. It can be said that starting to gain these skills, which are required by the 21st-century professions and which employers expect from graduates, from an early age it is important for individuals to be properly and fully prepared for the future. In accordance with the 21st-century expectations, evaluations, educational materials, teaching methods, professional growth opportunities, and learning environments should all be synchronized to create a supportive framework that generates the 21st-century results for contemporary students. [This paper was published in: "EJER Congress 2023 International Eurasian Educational Research Congress Conference Proceedings," Ani Publishing, 2023, pp. 97-126.]

This is the book of abstracts for the conference held in 2017 entitled: ''METADISCOURSE ACROSS GENRES: MAPPING INTERACTION IN SPOKEN & WRITTEN DISCOURSES'', also known as MAG2017. The 1st International Conference on Metadiscourse Across Genres took place in METU Northern Cyprus Campus, Cyprus between 30 March-1 April 2017 with the participation of Prof. Ken Hyland, Prof. Anna Mauranen and Prof. Annelie Adel as keynote speakers. This international conference aimed to disseminate current research work on Metadiscourse and related areas in line with various qualitative and quantitative approaches with special focuses on Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Genre Analysis and eventually the first-of-its kind conference in the field of Metadiscourse has welcomed 110 participant and hosted 3 plenary talks and 94 research talks given by researchers from 40 countries from Japan, Mexico, Turkey to Botswana and United Kingdom. The book of abstracts includes the abstracts of the talks with various qualitative and quantitative approaches with special focuses on Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Genre Analysis. We would like to acknowledge that the event was co-organized by individual researchers: Dr. Erdem Akbas (Erciyes University), Assoc Prof. Ciler Hatipoglu (Middle East Technical University) and Prof. Yasemin Bayyurt (Bogazici University) with the initial suggestion coming from Reza Abdi (University of Mohaghegh Ardabili).

The nine seminar papers present discussion and methodology related to surveying for community education. The introductory paper, Initiating Community Education-Who Does It and How, examines local, governmental, nongovernmental, and individual roles in supporting community education. Methodological Considerations in Community Surveys discusses community survey design and data analysis. Another paper provides a listing of selected references related to the structure, formation, and analysis of sociological surveys. Surveying for University Community Education is a comparison of two continuing education surveys conducted at Auckland University in 1945 and 1951. The Assessment of Community Education Needs: the Masterton Study examines the effects of social background factors on the development of adolescents as a base for possible community programs. Surveying the High School Community and The Primary School Survey describe a questionnaire survey related to increased use of secondary school facilities for out-of-school classes. Other papers, which clarify school role within the total framework of community education are The Intermediate School Model in Community Education and Surveying a Community's Needs for Early Childhood Education Services. (EA)

We present a model that employs "cultural-historical activity theory" (CHAT) concepts to inform research with designated Educational Leaders in early years settings. We theorise practice change in early years mathematics education in terms of motive objects of activity and mediation by cultural tools. We show how CHAT can be used to lead development of a strengths-based approach to support young children's early mathematics education through systematic professional learning activity. Our overarching aim is to understand how educational leadership in early learning spaces can be reimagined, drawing on CHAT to theorise this under-researched area of mathematics leadership in early learning settings. [This paper is the third in a symposium of three papers. For the first paper "An Introduction to the Strengths Approach," see ED616177. For the second paper "A Strengths Approach to Birth to 3 Mathematics Education: The Case of Banjo Childcare Centre," see ED616174.]

This paper explores three multilingual students' (9 to 11-years-old) conceptual understanding of three-dimensional (3D) shapes as displayed through peer and classroom interactions in two New Zealand primary classes. Bakhtin's dialogic theory and Garfinkel's ethnomethodology inform the theoretical framework. The paper presents two excerpts from audio-video recorded data. Findings suggest that the students use their multilingual capacities to convey their meanings of geometry shapes as they engage in peer and classroom interactions. The paper recommends that it is crucial to explore prosodic features of the language to facilitate the meaning-making process during teaching and learning of geometry.

In this paper, we report on data gathered through Talanoa on how Pasifika students can be supported to learn mathematics. The perspectives of five teachers were analysed, highlighting three themes. Firstly, the importance for Pasifika students to feel a sense of belonging at school. Secondly, how the core cultural values of Pasifika students can be drawn on to develop effective social and sociomathematical norms. Finally, the significance of presenting learning and mathematical activity in authentic contextual frames to support engagement and participation in learning. These findings offer potential for implementing pedagogical approaches that are meaningful, relevant, and can support the mathematics learning of many students currently marginalised in New Zealand schools.

In this paper, we explore student solutions to a free response mathematical assessment task which had opportunities for students to notice structural properties in the context of number systems. In total, 308 students aged between 10 years to 13 years participated in the study. Their responses were analysed to determine whether they noticed algebraic structures in a task using equivalent equations. Findings indicate that students were able to recognise equation pairs that drew on both the associative and distributive properties. A limited number of students were able to notice the general structure and draw on number properties to support their claims, moving beyond using algorithmic thinking.

Supporting students of all levels to move beyond empirical arguments, which employ example based reasoning to endorse universal truths and are thus mathematically invalid, remains a challenging goal in mathematics education. Arguments that make use of generic examples are both mathematically valid and accessible for even young learners. However, discerning whether students are viewing or using an example as a specific case, or a general case, is difficult. In this paper, we open the space between empirical and generic use of examples and establish categories of example-use regarding odd and even numbers. We reveal discursive markers pointing towards whether a learner is referring to particularity or generality in their example-based reasoning.

This paper describes how one third and final year pre-service (PST) used curriculum materials when planning for primary mathematics teaching on practicum. The findings were drawn from a semi-structured focus group interview, where four PSTs recalled how they planned for primary teaching during a previous practicum. This case study shows how one PST used curriculum planning documents from the practicum setting, and a teacher's guide when planning mathematics lessons. Planning processes are also identified, and implications for associate teachers (ATs), PSTs, and mathematics Initial Teacher Educators are discussed.

Current trends in mathematics education emphasise student-centred learning; and internet-based pedagogies, such as online mathematics instructional platforms, go even further in reducing the role of the classroom teacher. In this paper I consider how teachers may exercise agency and professionalism in the context of online mathematics instruction. Whilst there is some evidence for the reduction of the teacher role, there is also considerable space for teachers to enact professional identities as teachers of mathematics. However, I suggest that care needs to be taken to ensure that there is a balance to the overall mathematics programme, including opportunity for teachers to make their own decisions and assessments regarding students' learning.

Participation structures are important in relation to who gets equitable access to mathematics within classrooms premised on co-construction of mathematical reasoning. This paper takes a strength-based focus to explore how two teachers extended their Pasifika students' known repertoires of practice to encompass others, which supported them to better engage in mathematics. The data illustrates the importance of teachers drawing on task contexts and student ways of knowing and being to facilitate student engagement in reasoned discourse and argumentation. The teacher actions provide a model which other teachers could draw on when teaching mathematics to students from predominantly collectivist groupings.

In this paper, we report on the pedagogical actions of one teacher in eliciting and developing students' mathematical reasoning during one mathematics lesson. The findings illustrate that through the careful design and planning of a contextually relevant task (the construction of a manu tukutuku), and the implementation of specific teacher actions, a group of marginalised students were provided access to exploring the concept of equivalence.

There is no doubt that Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and mobile mediated communication are linked as technology continues to transform the way we communicate with each other. Campbell (2019) analyzed how mobile communication evolved into portable devices to form a complete system of mobile media, reshaping the fabric of our social lives via 'sociality' and 'spatiality'. In this short paper, we would like to offer a brief overview of the diverse oral presentations which took place in the joint CMC and MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) Special Interest Group (SIG) symposium at the online conference this year. This short paper will introduce various online apps which are available for free in both computer-based and mobile versions and can be adapted to foreign language learning in various ways. [For the complete volume, "CALL for Widening Participation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2020 (28th, Online, August 20-21, 2020)," see ED610330.]

In this study, we aim to investigate the role of language in small group peer collaboration. Based on the notion of symmetrical scaffolding, we draw on theories of dialogic space and functional linguistics to analyse a transcript of three six-year-old students as they explore a shared understanding of 'two more than'. Using Martin and White's (2005) engagement framework as an analytical tool, we identify how the three students used language resources in contractive and expansive ways to move each other's learning forward. These findings provide a perspective of symmetrical scaffolding closely focused on students' language choices that support engagement with each other's thinking. We suggest that a focus on use of language with young students is valuable in identifying the type of mathematical discourse that will support peer collaboration in problem solving and mathematical reasoning.

With smartphone saturation at 100% among Japanese university students, educators are developing new and innovative ways to bring them to the forefront of learning, ensuring students are as engaged with their technology in their formal learning as they are with their informal learning. Smartphones of today are small, portable, have high spec cameras, microphones, and a large storage capacity. These devices also allow for videos to be edited within applications on the smartphone itself, without the need for a separate and expensive computer and editing software. Aspects such as these make using smartphones to make Digital Stories (DS) one possible way to effectively use this technology for formal learning purposes. This paper shows the results of a paper-based survey and discusses preliminary observations conducted with 38 Japanese university students undertaking a short-term study abroad experience in Australia and New Zealand. [For the complete proceedings, see ED600837.]

The paper explores one episode from a larger study, where a multilingual student (10-year-old) described her understanding of what makes a shape 2D or 3D. Bakhtin's dialogic theory and Garfinkel's ethnomethodology inform the theoretical framework. Transcribed data of the episode is presented, which is analysed at micro-level and macro-level. The analysis revealed three major findings. First, the analogy of "flat vs fat" for describing shapes may not be useful. Second, the meanings of the terms such as fat are shaped by the interaction of unitary language and heteroglossia. Third, prosody embedded in utterances contribute to the meaning constructions during mathematical discussions. A few implications are presented.

This paper uses the commognitive framework to analyse how a group of four primary school students classify odd and even numbers. The findings show how students' reasoning is grounded in their personal uses of "odd" and "even". The students attend to different features of "oddness" and "evenness" and agree on "which" numbers are odd and even but disagree about "why." The findings highlight the role that proving can play in signalling differences in reasoning within a group of students that may otherwise remain hidden. However, they also suggest students' awareness of the breach in communication may not be sufficient to engender a resolution, even when pedagogical moves toward this direction are made.

This article reports on an autoethnography by two authors who analysed the interrelationship of their experiences as foreign language learners, educators, and researchers. Both participant-researchers had taken advantage of the accessibility of online learning resources to learn new languages, had incorporated digital tools into their teaching practices, and had researched how technology could be used as a learning aid for students inside and outside the classroom. In this collaborative autoethnography, they turned the research lens upon themselves and each other to develop understandings of the way their experiences as language learners and researchers impacted upon their teacher cognition and teaching practices. [For the complete volume, "CALL for Widening Participation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2020 (28th, Online, August 20-21, 2020)," see ED610330.]

Rural social work education and practice in North America underwent a revival in recent decades and remains a valid praxis and pedagogic model for the 21st Century. The paper posits through rigorous literature review and analysis there are numerous elements central to North American (U.S. and Canadian) and Commonwealth of Nations (U.K., Australia, etc.) rural social work that make this framework significantly germane to Filipinos. These include the necessity to function in an environment of marginal or stressed community, personnel resources and educational opportunities. Significantly, the generalist practice model comprises the core of North American rural social work; it also predominates in Philippine methodology. Both frameworks require robust client and social justice advocacy roles encouraging awareness of needs and aspirations of at risk populations. Indeed, social work researcher Thelma Lee-Mendoza reports that historically modern Philippine practice originated and is primarily organized from North American models. Rural social workers in the West, like their Philippine counterparts, are more typically generalists and innovative environmental operators. Daily they rely on profound survey and calculation of services and innovative ways to make them meaningful. The paper concludes by urging creative international and transnational research with a view towards optimizing service delivery.

This reflective practice paper presents an excerpt of the outcome of a telecollaboration project between two tertiary institutions in New Zealand and Finland. Twenty-six intermediate students of German in the two countries used a Facebook-group to write about given topics which were part of their final assessment. The posts were a combination of video uploads, audio recordings, and writing which is in line with the multimodal meaning-making theory (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001). The task design was guided by O'Dowd and Ware's (2009) three-layer approach design. The study investigates how students perceive the collaboration using the Facebook group and how the multimodal approach helps the students to develop their digital literacies. The data collected for the study included a mixed-methods approach with pre- and post-questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and Facebook logs. Results show that students learned more about each others' culture and improved their German at the same time. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED590612.]

Singing, and specifically, the singing of waiata (a song or chant related to the Maori world), is a useful and important mathematics classroom practice in any culture. Focussing on teachers in Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu New Zealand, we suggest waiata is one step teachers can take towards honouring their obligations under Te Tiriti partnership. We discuss how the singing of waiata during mathematics can support Maori students to achieve success as Maori. We outline how the use of waiata can retain focus on the mathematics while supporting the building of the classroom community, and we describe ways waiata is good for students' learning processes and how it can support the teaching of mathematical content. Lastly, we explore how the use of waiata can support the teaching of mathematics when using contexts related to the Maori world.

Opportunities for five students to access higher mathematics and critical thinking is often restricted until they have developed sufficient knowledge. This case study focuses on two reception class teachers and their teacher actions used to develop mathematical reasoning with their students. The findings illustrate the impact these teachers have on their students in the mathematics classroom by developing mathematical practices with five-year-old students that show that these students can critically reason and engage in mathematical practices.

In this position paper, we review the practice of differentiation -- a universal concept aimed to support diverse students in our classrooms. In exposing the wide-ranging practices of differentiated instruction, and critiques of current implementation, we argue that differentiation in the mathematics classroom needs to be reframed in terms of a social justice perspective. In doing so, we argue that differentiation practices need to move from a focus on cognitive achievement/performance outcomes that serve to divide/label students towards a focus on student well-being and productive mathematical disposition.

Research in both the New Zealand and international contexts identifies the need for New Zealand classrooms to foster culturally responsive and mathematical practices that align with Påsifika students' cultural values, backgrounds, interests and experiences. The aim of this study was to investigate how the use of culturally responsive tasks along with cultural practices can foster Påsifika students' participation and engagement in mathematics. Eleven Year 5 and 6 students used cameras to document their out-of-school mathematical experiences. These photographs were used to design culturally relevant tasks that were implemented in the classroom. In this paper, we analyse the students' perspectives and understandings of mathematics embedded within their lives beyond the classroom.

In this paper, I report on one teacher's journey of change in grouping her students for mathematics learning. In addition, I describe and illustrate the design and implementation of a smart tool used for planning for effective grouping in collaborative mathematics problem-solving. The findings illustrate that when explicit teacher support is provided, shifts in teacher beliefs and practices in grouping students by notions of perceived ability are possible.

In many Western countries, there has been an emphasis on ways in which to support teachers to shift practice from traditional mathematics instruction to inquiry-based classrooms. As a form of professional learning and development, lesson study offers the potential for teachers to develop their ability to respond to students' thinking through participation in a professional learning community. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, in this paper, we investigate how teachers in New Zealand learned to notice students' mathematical thinking. We analysed transcripts from teachers' post-lesson discussions. Our findings draw on analysis of teachers' post lesson discussions. They illustrate the ways in which teachers interacted with each other and highlight the important role of facilitators in supporting teachers to notice student thinking.

This paper is an investigation into the impact of a hierarchal and exclusive ability grouping framework on the self-perception and mathematical identity of diverse students in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Research interest in the low achievement of certain groups of students is growing as a result of increased understanding of the impact of cultural and societal norms. However, there has been less research into factors that influence how to support student perception to promote effective learning. This case study examines how perceptions of ability can be viewed as either exclusive or inclusive, and how this can be used to capture and cater to the complexity of a student's identity as a mathematician.

This paper reports on exploratory research into visual imagery in the learning of early mathematics. It aims to present a theoretical position in relation to perceptual perspectives of visual imagery. Students' visual imagery is explored in one example of a teacher's use of a protocol to encourage students to replicate dot patterns. This example indicated that some students were unable to accurately replicate the spatial and numerical features of the dot patterns. "Discernment" and "determinism" are considered as key elements impacting on the students' imagery, and consideration is given to a focus on these key elements in future research on the use of visual representations in the mathematics classroom.

This paper discusses the animated web series "Lifeswap" as an example for "amateur online interculturism" and investigates its potential for intercultural language education. Drawing on Dervin's (2015) discussion on the "amateur interculturist", I suggest that online publications of personal encounters of intercultural interaction can be used to foster critical reflection in intercultural language education. To illustrate this idea, I first introduce the concept of "amateur online interculturism" and the approach of the makers of the "Lifeswap" series. I then focus on one episode to provide an example of the series and to show how humour and cultural stereotypes can be used constructively to explore tensions in intercultural interactions. The online comments I present in the last section highlight the harmonising effect of humour but indicate that pedagogical intervention is needed to problematise intercultural issues. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED572005.]

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2021, organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.), that this year has been converted into a fully Virtual Conference as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. Modern psychology offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral standpoints), from this academic and practical scientific discipline, aims ultimately to benefit society. The International Conference seeks to provide some answers and explore the several areas within the Psychology field, new developments in studies and proposals for future scientific projects. The goal is to offer a worldwide connection between psychologists, researchers and lecturers, from a wide range of academic fields, interested in exploring and giving their contribution in psychological issues. We take pride in having been able to connect and bring together academics, scholars, practitioners and others interested in a field that is fertile in new perspectives, ideas and knowledge. We counted on an extensive variety of contributors and presenters, which can supplement the view of the human essence and behavior, showing the impact of their different personal, academic and cultural experiences. This is, certainly, one of the reasons there are nationalities and cultures represented, inspiring multi-disciplinary collaborative links, fomenting intellectual encounter and development. InPACT 2021 received 358 submissions, from more than 40 different countries from all over the world, reviewed by a double-blind process. Submissions were prepared to take form of Oral Presentations, Posters and Workshops. 117 submissions (overall, 33% acceptance rate) were accepted for presentation in the conference. The Conference addresses different categories inside Applied Psychology area and papers fit broadly into one of the named themes and sub-themes. This book contains the results of the different researches conducted by authors who focused on what they are passionate about: to study and develop research in areas related to Psychology and its applications. It includes an extensive variety of contributors and presenters that are hereby sharing with us their different personal, academic and cultural experiences. [This document contains the proceedings of the virtual International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2021. The proceedings were published by inScience Press. For the 2020 proceedings, see ED604955.]

Although gender differences in mathematics are smaller than they have been in the past, prominent voices still attribute these differences to a variety of fixed individual factors, such as genetic characteristics of men and women. We hold the alternative view that these differences can be ultimately attributed to malleable factors. From this vantage, societies could influence gender differences in mathematics by changing students' experiences in school. In this study, we built on prior work suggesting that mathematics anxiety causes lower mathematics scores. In particular, we found that mathematics anxiety entirely explains the gender differences evident in mathematics scores from the 2012 US Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Furthermore, we found that gender moderates the mediating role of mathematics anxiety: math anxiety is more detrimental for male than for female students. Because math anxiety is a malleable individual characteristic, we conclude that gender differences reveal more about gendered societal experiences than they do about innate characteristics of men and women. [For the complete proceedings, see ED629884.]

Classrooms around the world are becoming increasingly diverse. A major challenge faced by educators is achieving equity for all mathematics learners. To achieve equity, educators need to acknowledge and cater for this increasing diversity which includes attending to values of their students. Drawing on survey responses and individual interviews, this paper explores the mathematics education values espoused by 227 middle school students in New Zealand, including Pakeha/European, East Asian, Maori and Pasifika learners. Results from this study provide insight into what is valued in the mathematics classroom and may assist teachers to develop pedagogy and classroom culture which aligns with students' values.

Pasifika cultures have a rich background of mathematics including a strong emphasis on patterns used within craft design (Finau & Stillman, 1995). However, there have been limited studies which have investigated the use of contextual Pasifika patterns in mathematics classrooms. The aim of this study was to explore how contextual Pasifika patterning tasks can potentially support young children to develop their understanding of growing patterns. Ten lessons using Pasifika and Maori patterns were undertaken with 27 Year 2 students (6-year-old). In this paper, analysis of one of the lessons is used to examine how a contextual task assisted these young students to generalise growing patterns.

Research across five countries has identified inability to pay attention to mathematical detail -- the discipline of noticing -- is an issue in senior secondary school mathematics teachers. The test and questionnaire completed by an Australian cohort further identifies a reluctance to employ non-routine questions in assessments, with teachers concerned about damaging the trust relationship they enjoy with their students. As teachers fail to demonstrate strong ability in non-routine written test questions themselves, this paper questions whether there exists a 'conspiracy' between teachers and their students to avoid scrutiny of conceptual understanding.

This paper addresses the need for empirical research on the processes by which students create algorithms. I analyse the collaborative work of three high-school students on a contextualised graph theory task, in which they created an algorithm for maximising the happiness score of a seating arrangement. The group found an optimal arrangement but created an algorithm that did not fully account for this arrangement. The group's written algorithm reflected only the properties of their optimal arrangement that they explicitly noticed after creating the arrangement. And, these explicitly-noticed properties aligned with the group's predominant contextual considerations.