Promotional Information

Springer Book Archives

Table of Contents

1/Towards a Way of Knowing.- 1.1. The conflict.- 1.2. My task.- 1.3. Preliminary thoughts on Mathematics education and culture.- 1.4. Technique-oriented curriculum.- 1.5. Impersonal learning.- 1.6. Text teaching.- 1.7. False assumptions.- 1.8. Mathematical education, a social process.- 1.9. What is mathematical about a mathematical education?.- 1.10. Overview.- 2/Environmental Activities and Mathematical Culture.- 2.1. Perspectives from cross-cultural studies.- 2.2. The search for mathematical similarities.- 2.3. Counting.- 2.4. Locating.- 2.5. Measuring.- 2.6. Designing.- 2.7. Playing.- 2.8. Explaining.- 2.9. From ‘universals’ to ‘particulars’.- 2.10. Summary.- 3/The Values of Mathematical Culture.- 3.1. Values, ideals and theories of knowledge.- 3.2. Ideology — rationalism.- 3.3. Ideology — objectism.- 3.4. Sentiment — control.- 3.5. Sentiment — progress.- 3.6. Sociology — openness.- 3.7. Sociology — mystery.- 4/Mathematical Culture and the Child.- 4.1. Mathematical culture — symbolic technology and values.- 4.2. The culture of a people.- 4.3. The child in relation to the cultural group.- 4.4. Mathematical enculturation.- 5/Mathematical Enculturation — The Curriculum.- 5.1. The curriculum project.- 5.2. The cultural approach to the Mathematics curriculum — five principles.- 5.3. The three components of the enculturation curriculum.- 5.4. The symbolic component: concept-based.- 5.5. The societal component: project-based.- 5.6. The cultural component: investigation-based.- 5.7. Balance in this curriculum.- 5.8. Progress through this curriculum.- 6/Mathematical Enculturation — The Process.- 6.1. Conceptualising the enculturation process in action.- 6.2. An asymmetrical process.- 6.3. An intentional process.- 6.4. An ideational process.- 7/TheMathematical Enculturators.- 7.1. People are responsible for the process.- 7.2. The preparation of Mathematical enculturators — preliminary thoughts.- 7.3. The criteria for the selection of Mathematical enculturators.- 7.4. The principles of the education of Mathematical enculturators.- 7.5. Socialising the future enculturator into the Mathematics Education community.- Notes.- Index of Names.

Reviews

`Taking a refreshing noneurocentric position which refutes any suggestion that `West is best' as regards the development of mathematical thinking, Bishop sees mathematical development as being a function of the needs of whatever society in which it arises.'
Tony Brown (Manchester Polytechnic), in Mathematics Teaching
`This book is an informed, extremely rational and objective account of some aspects of enculturation and educational activity in the field of mathematics. I would recommend the book to all interested in mathematics education and curriculum design.'
Kathryn Crawford (The University of Sydney), in Educational Studies in Mathematics
`What is unique about Bishop's account is his attempt to specify and describe a universal set of activities that have supported and shaped the development of mathematics throughout the world.'
J. Stigler, in Journal for Research in Mathematics Education