Mathematics Education and Language: Interpreting Hermeneutics and Post-Structuralism

by Tony Brown

Overview

'Contemporary thinking on philosophy and the social sciences has been dominated by analyses that emphasise the importance of language in understanding societies and individuals functioning within them; important developments which have been under-utilised by researchers in mathematics education. This book reaches out to contemporary work in these broader fields; drawing on original sources in key areas such as Gadamer and Ricoeur's development of hermeneutics, Habermas' work in critical social theory, Schutz's social phenomenology, Saussure's linguistics and the post-structuralist analysis of Derrida, Foucault and Barthes. Through examining the writings of these major thinkers it is shown how language is necessarily instrumental in developing mathematical understanding; but a language that is in a permanent state of becoming, resisting stable connections to the ideas it locates. The analysis offered extends from children doing mathematics to teachers inspecting and developing their own professional practices.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789401738002
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	06/23/2013
Series:	Mathematics Education Library , #20
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1997
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

Short Review of Recent Research.- 1. Hermeneutics and Mathematics Education.- Action and Meaning.- Phenomenology.- Hermeneutics.- Hermeneutics and Education.- Towards an Hermeneutical Understanding of Mathematics.- 2. The Production of Mathematical Meaning: A Post-Structuralist Perspective.- Post-Structuralism: A Radical Form of Hermeneutics.- Post-Structuralism, Education and Mathematics.- Saussurian Linguistics and Mathematics.- Self-Reflexivity in Mathematical Engagement.- Creating and Inheriting Mathematics.- 3. Sharing Mathematical Perspectives.- Discourse or Reality?.- Locating Mathematical Knowledge.- Assessing Mathematical Activity.- Combining Language and Experience.- 4. Some Lessons.- 5. The Phenomenology of the Mathematics Classroom.- Personal Space.- Appresentational Association.- Acting in the Supposed World.- 6. Teacher-Student Interactions.- 7. Narratives of Learning Mathematics.- Multiple Accounts.- The Transition from Arithmetical to Algebraic Thinking.- Storying Transition.- Semantic Innovation.- Concluding Comments.- 8. Mathematics and Language.- 9. Developing Teacher Practice.- Writing as a Mechanism for Professional Development.- Building a Professional Discourse of Mathematics Teaching within an Initial Training Course.- Building an Understanding of the Teacher’s Task through Practitioner Enquiry.- 10. Mathematical Cultures.- 11. The Social Constitution of Mathematics.- References.- Name Index.

Editorial Reviews

This book examines the way in which language and interpretation underpin the teaching and learning of mathematics. It draws on the work of writers including Gadamer and Ricoeur on hermeneutics, Habermas on critical social theory, Saussure on linguistics, Foucault on post-structuralism, and Schütz on social phenomenology. Most of the examples offered describe elementary students learning mathematics in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, although there is also some discussion of work taking place in teacher education courses. This second edition adds material on progression in mathematical learning. A new concluding chapter considers how teachers experience the new demands they face. Brown teaches in the Institute of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

‘It seems to me that Brown is involved in an extremely important project in trying to develop such a theoretical frame. This is crucial for the further development of critical mathematics education... I find Mathematics Education and Language interesting and important...'
Professor O. Skovmose, Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, Copenhagen
‘It is a remarkable enrichment of our professional literature in terms of theoretical reflection and foundation, as well as through the convincing examples from teaching practice and the style in which it is written. Striking new perspectives are opened for teachers as well as for researchers. It was demanding and strenuous to work with, but personally rewarding and a pleasure.'
Emeritus Professor H. Bauersfeld, Bieleveld University
‘...The book is an excellent starting place for anyone seeking a broader introduction to contempory theory and philosophy than is generally available with the comparatively insular world of mathematics education literature... Brown's presentation of the methodological rigour of hermeneutics clearly demonstrates both the timelessness and scholarly potential of this orientation to enquiry.'
B. Davis, York University, Toronto, Canada

From the Publisher