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Mathematics, Mathematics Education and Economic Conditions

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Second International Handbook of Mathematics Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE,volume 10))

Abstract

This chapter looks at the rhetoric which surrounds the relationship of mathematics to the economic assumptions in modern societies. It is concerned on the one hand with the economic language which has invaded educational principles and on the other its converse, in which the language of mathematics is used to justify and authenticate political and economic arguments. Economic conditions are now globally managed — through inter-dependant markets, through overt political pressures from such bodies as the World Bank and through dominance and pressures from global corporations — and so too education is becoming an internationally uniformly conditioned commodity. The chapter also looks at the issues raised by international testing as measures of educational success and the supposed dominant variable in national economic success. After reviewing the dilemmas raised by ICT and new technologies in the context of disparate world resource divisions it also looks at the limited studies available on the impact of poverty on mathematics education in classrooms.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

    Derek Woodrow

Authors
  1. Derek Woodrow
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Australia

    Alan J. Bishop

  2. Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei

    M. A. Clements

  3. Free University of Berlin, Germany

    Christine Keitel

  4. University of Georgia, Athens, USA

    Jeremy Kilpatrick

  5. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Frederick K. S. Leung

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Woodrow, D. (2003). Mathematics, Mathematics Education and Economic Conditions. In: Bishop, A.J., Clements, M.A., Keitel, C., Kilpatrick, J., Leung, F.K.S. (eds) Second International Handbook of Mathematics Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0273-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0273-8_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3951-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0273-8

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