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The Philosophy of Mathematics Education: An Overview

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The Philosophy of Mathematics Education Today

Part of the book series: ICME-13 Monographs ((ICME13Mo))

Abstract

This chapter offers an overview of the philosophy of mathematics education. This sub-field is characterised in both narrow and broad terms, concerning the aims of mathematics education and all philosophical aspects of research in mathematics education, respectively. The sub-field is also explored in terms of its questions and practices, which can be called a bottom-up perspective, as well as in terms of the applications of branches of philosophy to mathematics education, which might be called a top-down perspective. From the bottom-up one can characterize the area in terms of questions, and I have asked: What are the aims and purposes of teaching and learning mathematics? What is mathematics? How does mathematics relate to society? What is learning mathematics? What is mathematics teaching? What is the status of mathematics education as knowledge field? In characterizing the sub-field from a ‘top down’ perspective I look briefly at the contributions of ontology and metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology and learning theory, social philosophy, ethics, and the research methodology of mathematics education. This reveals both how rich and deep the contributions of philosophy are to the theoretical foundations of our field of study. But even these different approaches leave many questions unanswered. For example: what are the responsibilities of mathematics and what is the responsibility of our own subfield, the philosophy of mathematics education? I conclude that the role of the philosophy of mathematics education is to analyse, question, challenge, and critique the claims of mathematics education practice, policy and research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I use the term ‘nature’ here and elsewhere without presupposing essentialism in being.

  2. 2.

    In later work Skemp (1982) refers to instrumental understanding as ‘surface’ and relational understanding as ‘deep’ understanding, thus prefiguring the depth metaphor in the more recently coined term ‘understanding mathematics in-depth’.

  3. 3.

    “[I]t is ambition enough to be employed as an under-labourer in clearing the ground a little, and removing some of the rubbish that lies in the way to knowledge” (Locke, 1975, p. 10).

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  1. Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

    Paul Ernest

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  1. School of Education, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Paul Ernest

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Ernest, P. (2018). The Philosophy of Mathematics Education: An Overview. In: Ernest, P. (eds) The Philosophy of Mathematics Education Today. ICME-13 Monographs. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77760-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77760-3_2

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