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Mathematical competence for all: Options, implications and obstacles

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Abstract

In the recent evolution of Portuguese basic education, the concept of competence and the process of curriculum development became major aspects of an innovative movement at a national level. Concerning school mathematics, this evolution provided an opportunity to explore the way in which mathematical competence for all could be defined and interpreted with the purpose of abandoning a technique-oriented view of the curriculum and the process of developing it. After describing the context and exploring the concept of competence, this paper presents a formulation for the characteristics of mathematical competence for all and discusses some of its implications. Finally, the paper tries to identify the obstacles that tend to emerge when such an approach is proposed in the context of a national curriculum.

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Abrantes, P. Mathematical competence for all: Options, implications and obstacles. Educational Studies in Mathematics 47, 125–143 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014589220323

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