Leading mathematics educator from Singapore appointed Professor of Education
Lianghuo Fan, originally from Ningbo, China, has an outstanding international experience in China, the USA and Singapore.
Professor Fan was a teacher educator in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province for a number of years, before obtaining a doctorate from the University of Chicago. He has a wide range of publications, in particular in the areas of mathematics learning and assessment, curriculum study and reform, and teacher professional development. As leading editor, he published a book, How Chinese Learn Mathematics: Perspectives from Insiders , which was regarded as a milestone in the study of Chinese mathematics education. Professor Fan is an internationally renowned expert in mathematics curriculum studies and textbook development. He was on the development team for a series of the US secondary mathematics textbooks, and more recently, has served as the Editor-in-Chief of two current series of mathematics textbooks in Singapore and China respectively.
Before joining Southampton, Professor Fan was on the faculty of the National Institute of Education of Nanyang Technological University for more than 12 years, in which he had also served as the founding principal investigator of a major research project, ‘Singapore Mathematics Assessment and Pedagogy Project’. In addition, he was also the chief editor of The Mathematics Educator , a research journal by the Singapore Association of Mathematics Educators.
Professor Fan developed his interest in UK mathematics education during his study in Shanghai, which led him to translate into Chinese an influential UK national report on mathematics education, the Cockcroft Report, and publish it in China in the early 1990s.
“I am delighted to join Southampton, as I have a strong interest in UK mathematics education. I look forward to making a contribution to the development of mathematics education in the UK, as well as the larger international community”, says Professor Fan. He also hopes to promote international exchanges and collaborations, in particular, between the UK and Asian countries, including China and Singapore.