Abstract
This paper takes the case of math educationreform in California to analyze problems andprospects for reforming high school teaching.The experiences of three math departmentsreveal the profoundly political nature of highschool mathematics reform. First, changing mathinstruction means rejecting established normsfor professional practice in mathematics and inteaching more generally. I argue that radicalteaching reform depends upon professionalismand sustained commitment of teachercommunities, as well as on the knowledge ofreformed practice they generate. Second,successful reform engages politics beyond theteaching profession, as the California ``mathwars'' attest. After describing the course oforganized opposition to a reformed high schoolmath department, I examine the rhetoric andvested interests that figure prominently inparents' mobilization against mathematicsreform. The analysis brings into focus the dualproblems for high school teaching reform ofchanging professional practice and engagingpolitical opposition to educational change. Thestunning success of anti-reform politics inAmerican mathematics education highlights theimportance of activist professionalism inteaching.
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Talbert, J.E. Professionalism and Politics in High School Teaching Reform. Journal of Educational Change 3, 339–363 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021229929671
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021229929671