Brian Butterworth felt disappointment at what he calls the “official neglect” of dyscalculia on the part of government and educational authorities. Though estimates of prevalence indicate dyscalculia affects a small percentage of children, Butterworth is passionate about the need for bringing attention to this learning difference.
That disappointment and passion led Butterworth, an emeritus professor of cognitive neuropsychology at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, to write
Dyscalculia: From Science to Education.
According to
DSM-V (
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — APA, 2013), dyscalculia is “a specific learning disorder, an impediment in mathematics, evidencing problems with number sense, memorization of arithmetic facts, accurate and fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning” — though Butterworth takes some issue with this characterization.
The author defines dyscalculia as a domain-specific core deficit in what he terms the “number module,” which refers to the neurological structures that support processing and understanding of numbers. He offers this example of a student with dyscalculia (though it can present in many different ways): A student may be able to count five objects in a set, but they are unable to reason that 5 – 2 = 3, whether working with numbers or concrete manipulatives.
Butterworth notes that there has been an increase in scientific research on dyscalculia over the past few years, however this scientific work has not yet crossed over into educational practice. Specifically, dyscalculia, which impacts 4-7% of children according to the text, is often missing from teacher training programs and as a result it is little known and poorly understood.
This book is Butterworth’s effort to fill the gap in awareness and to build a bridge between current scientific research and educational practice. His hope is to increase recognition of dyscalculia among those in a position to make decisions about educational policy, encourage inclusion of the subject in training programs for teachers and educational psychologists, and increase understanding among teachers, parents, and those with dyscalculia.
To connect the science of dyscalculia to education, Butterworth takes an approach that goes beyond investigating dyscalculia in terms of performance and instead focuses on the cognitive factors that underpin this learning difference. The author acknowledges that the science of dyscalculia is emerging, and that there is research which contradicts his own findings.
The scope of the book is broad, addressing such topics as math development, characteristics of dyscalculia, underlying causes, the impact on society and the economy, issues of identification, and policy suggestions.
The book is suited to a broad audience, including parents, educators, researchers, and policymakers.
Dyscalculia: From Science to Education is organized according to the causal modelling framework, which includes four levels of explanation (behavioral, cognitive, neural, and genetic). It also explores the interplay between those levels and environmental factors — in this case, formal and informal educational contexts. Butterworth also explores the issues of availability of resources and equity and offers practical intervention strategies.
The book has much to offer. It is thorough, well-organized, and rich with information. With a heavy focus on scientific research, Butterworth works to make the content accessible to non-scientists by defining terms and explaining the science throughout the book. He presents compelling arguments for his understanding of dyscalculia and lays a solid foundation for bridging the gap between science and educational policy and practice.
The book falls short in some areas. There are typographical errors and some instances where the writing lacks clarity, especially for the layperson. Much of the information about government and educational policy is specific to the United Kingdom, though there are references to the United States and other countries with regard to identification and policies for readers outside of the U.K.
In addition, in spite of Butterworth’s efforts to clarify the science, the book may contain more scientific and technical information than is desired for parents or even classroom teachers. However, specialists in math and those who work closely with dyscalculic students will find much of interest, and parents and teachers alike will find practical strategies to support students. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the book is that the author presents the information through a deficit lens, while research is increasingly pointing toward the benefits of a strength-based approach to learning differences in education.
These shortcomings aside,
Dyscalculia: From Science to Education is an excellent resource for understanding this complex and poorly understood learning difference.
