Abstract
This chapter is devoted to political questions in mathematics education. The practice of recognizing certain children as more gifted than others and selecting them accordingly becomes inevitably a focus of public attention, frequently giving rise to disagreements, finding itself at the heart of political discussions, sometimes instigating such discussions, and sometimes reflecting already existing conflicts. Without attempting an exhaustive analysis, the author describes certain episodes, aspects, and slogans of such political battles, while posing some questions for further study.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdeljaouad, M. (2014). Mathematics education in the Islamic countries in the modern time: Case study of Tunisia. In A. Karp & G. Schubring (Eds.), Handbook on the history of mathematics education (pp. 405–428). New York: Springer.
ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). (n.d.) Secret apartheid II. Retrieved at May 1, 2015, from http://web.archive.org/web/20070714102424/http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=540 .
Alexeeva, L. M. (2012). Istoriya inakomysliya v SSSR: noveishii period [History of dissent in the USSR: Recent years]. Moscow: Moskovskaya Khel’sinkskaya gruppa.
Apple, M. W. (2000). Mathematics reform through conservative modernization? Standards, markets, and inequality in education. In J. Boaler (Ed.), Multiple perspectives on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 243–259). Westport: Ablex.
Belhoste, B., & Chatzis, K. (2007). From technical corps to technocratic power: French state engineers and their professional and cultural universe in the first half of the 19th century. History and Technology, 23(3), 209–225.
Bunimovich, E. (2012). Deviatyi klass. Vtoraya shkola [Ninth grade. School no. 2]. Moscow: AST.
Croom, L. (1997). Mathematics for all students: Access, excellence, and equity. In J. Trentacosta (Ed.), Multicultural and gender equity in the mathematics classroom. The gift of diversity (pp. 1–9). Reston: NCTM.
Damerow, P., et al. (1986). Introduction. In P. Damerow, et al. (Eds.), Mathematics for all. Problems of cultural selectivity and unequal distribution of mathematical education and future perspectives on mathematics teaching for the majority; Report and papers presented in the theme group I, ‘Mathematics for all’ at the 5th International Congress on Mathematical Education, Adelaide, 1984. Paris: UNESCO (Science and technology education; 20).
Djilas, M. (1957). The new class: An analysis of the communist system. New York: Praeger.
Ebanks, M. E., Toldson, I. A., Richards, S., & Lemmons, B. P. (2012). Project 2011 and the preparation of Black and Latino students for admission to the specialized high schools in New York city. The Journal of Negro Education, 81(3), 241–251.
Fasheh, M. (1997). Is math in the classroom neutral – or dead? A view from Palestine. For the Learning of Mathematics, 17(2), 24–27.
Fey, J. T., & Graeber, A. O. (2003). From the New Math to the Agenda for Action. In G. M. A. Stanic & J. Kilpatrick (Eds.), A history of school mathematics (pp. 521–558). Reston: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. (1986). Black students’ school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”. Urban Review, 18, 176–206.
Gallagher, J. (2008). Policy and advocacy. In J. Plucker & C. Callahan (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (pp. 513–522). Waco: Prufrock Press.
Gervasoni, A., & Lindenskov, L. (2011). Students with “special rights” for mathematics education. In B. Atweh et al. (Eds.), Mapping equity and quality in mathematics education (pp. 307–323). New York: Springer.
Gutstein, E. (2012). Mathematics as a weapon in the struggle. In O. Scovsmose & B. Greer (Eds.), Opening the cage: Critique and politics of mathematics education (pp. 23–48). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Halmos, M., & Varga, T. T. (1978). Change in mathematics education since the late 1950s—Ideas and realisation. Hungary. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 9(2), 225–244.
Hart, J. (1997). Destroying excellence. The Dartmouth review, May 28.
Karp, A. (2009). Teaching the mathematically gifted: An attempt at a historical analysis. In R. Leikin, A. Berman, & B. Koichu (Eds.), Creativity in mathematics and the education of gifted students (pp. 11–30). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Karp, A. (2010). Teachers of the mathematically gifted tell about themselves and their profession. Roeper Review, 32(4), 272–280.
Karp, A. (2011a). Schools with an advanced course in mathematics and schools with an advanced course in the humanities. In A. Karp & B. Vogeli (Eds.), Russian mathematics education: Programs and practices (pp. 265–318). London: World Scientific.
Karp, A. (2011b). Toward a history of teaching the mathematically gifted: Three possible directions for research. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, 11(1), 8–18.
Karp, A. (2011c). Withering away by blossoming and blossoming by withering away: On the fate of schools with an advanced course of study in mathematics. In M. Avotina et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th international conference on creativity in mathematics education and the education of gifted students (pp. 102–105). Riga: University of Latvia.
Karp, A., & Lee, J. H. (2010). Contents or ideology? A case study of mathematical teaching in North Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 30(1), 1–13.
Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. New York: Crown Publishers.
Kukulin, I., & Maiofis, M. (2015). Matematicheskie shkoly v SSSR: Genezis institutsii i tipologiya utopii [Schools with an Advanced course of study in Mathematics in the USSR: The origin of the Institution and the Typology of Utopia]. In I. Kukulin, M. Maiofis, & P. Safronov (Eds.), Ostrova utopii: Pedagogicheskoe i sotsial’noe proektirovanie poslevoennoy shkoly (pp. 1940–1980). Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie.
Lenin, V. I. (1905). Partiinaya organizatsiya i partiinaya literatura [Party organization and party literature]. Retrieved at May 1, 2015, from http://www.revolucia.ru/org_lit.htm.
Linchevski, L., Kutscher, B., & Oliver, A. (2011). Together-and-apart for quality and equity in mathematics education. In B. Atweh et al. (Eds.), Mapping equity and quality in mathematics education (pp. 509–519). New York: Springer.
Mandelshtam, O. (1917). Dekabrist (Decembrist). In O. Mandelshtam (1990). Stikhotvoreniya. Perevody. Ocherki. Stat’i. Tbilisi: Merani.
Martin, D. B. (2006). Mathematics learning and participation as racialized forms of experience: African American parents speak on the struggle for mathematics literacy. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 197–229.
Morgan, R. (2002). Elite private high schools serve as ‘Feeder System’ into top colleges, magazine reports. Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug 26.
Niss, M. (2015). Interview. International Journal for the History of Mathematics Education, 10(1), 55–76.
Novikov, S.P. (1996). Matematika v Rossii bol’she, chem nauka, ili matematicheskoe obrazovanie v Rossii – est’li perspektivy? [Mathematics in Russia is more than a science, or is there a future for mathematics education in Russia?]. Znanie-sila, 5:29–37.
Pakhomov, V. (2013). Internat [Boarding school]. Moscow: ZAO Vympel.
Rickey, V. F. (2001). The first century of mathematics at West Point. In A. Shell-Gellash (Ed.), History of undergraduate mathematics in America (pp. 25–46). West Point: The United States Military Academy.
Rudensky, M., & Rudensky, S. (1976). Oni uchilis’ s Pushkinym [They studied with Pushkin]. Leningrad: Lenizdat.
Schubring, G. (2012). From the few to the many: Historical perspectives on who should learn mathematics. In K. Bjarnadottir et al. (Eds.), “Dig where you stand” 2 (pp. 443–462). Lisbon: UIED.
Sossinsky, A. (2010). Mathematicians and mathematics education: A tradition of involvement. In A. Karp & B. Vogeli (Eds.), Russian mathematics education: History and world significance (pp. 187–222). Hackensack: World Scientific.
Tannenbaum, A. J. (2000). A history of giftedness in school and society. In K. A. Heller, F. J. Mönks, & A. H. Passow (Eds.), International handbook of giftedness and talent (pp. 23–53). Amsterdam/Oxford: Elsevier.
Tyson, K., Darity, W., Jr., & Castellino, D. R. (2005). It’s not “a black thing”: Understanding the burden of acting white and other dilemmas of high achievement. American Sociological Review, 70(4), 582–605.
Vogeli, B. R. (1997). Special secondary schools for the mathematically and scientifically talented. An international panorama. New York: Teachers College Columbia University.
Walker, E. (2003). Who can do mathematics? In B. Vogeli & A. Karp (Eds.), Activating mathematical talent (pp. 15–27). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Walker, E. (2012). Building mathematics learning communities: improving outcomes in urban high schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
Walker, E. (2014). Beyond Banneker: Black mathematicians and the paths to excellence. New York: SUNY Press.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express his gratitude to his colleague Erica N. Walker for very useful discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Karp, A. (2017). Mathematically Gifted Education: Some Political Questions. In: Leikin, R., Sriraman, B. (eds) Creativity and Giftedness. Advances in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38840-3_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38840-3_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-38838-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-38840-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)