Why Is Math So Hard for Some Children?

In order for schools to help students with learning difficulties and disabilities improve their achievement in mathematics, educators, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers need a better understanding of the evidence base on what’s behind these students’ difficulties in learning math. That’s just what they’ll get with this landmark book—the first and only definitive research volume on this important topic in education.

Comprehensive and multidisciplinary, this resource gives educational decision-makers and researchers in-depth theoretical and practical insight into mathematical learning difficulties and disabilities, combining diverse perspectives from fields such as special education, educational psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and behavioral genetics.

More than 35 internationally known contributors share their expertise on
» risk factors for developing difficulties with math
» connections between mathematics and reading disabilities
» neuropsychological factors in mathematical learning disabilities
» information processing deficits
» individual difference factors in mathematics difficulties, including the influences of motivation, gender, and socio-cultural background
» math anxiety
» the role of genetics
» effective instructional interventions

Based on the most current research available, this highly informative book gives readers the foundation they need to advance research, teaching strategies, and policies that identify struggling students—and to begin developing appropriate practices that really help these students improve their math skills.