Much of our current knowledge about mathematics learning comes from the minority world—often referred to as Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) populations—and is frequently generalised to the majority world or non-WEIRD populations. However, environmental variability, cultural values, and societal demands shape human cognition and influence developmental trajectories. For instance, differences in language and socioeconomic status have been shown to affect children’s mathematical development. Therefore, rather than generalising findings across contexts, it is essential to study each society directly and account for its unique environmental factors. One region that remains underrepresented in this research is sub-Saharan Africa.
In this talk, Dr Mojtaba Soltanlou will present some behavioural and fNIRS studies on mathematics learning in South African children. These include a cross-cultural investigation of mathematical development in preschoolers in South Africa and the UK, an fNIRS study examining mathematics learning in first and second languages, and an fNIRS study exploring fraction understanding in children with varying levels of competence. Dr Mojtaba Soltanlou will also discuss the challenges and limitations of conducting educational neuroscience research in South Africa.