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Beyond Disavowing the Politics of Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education

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Mapping Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education

Abstract

It is widely recognized in mathematics education research that issues of social justice, democracy, inclusion or diversity are political in nature and extend beyond mathematics education. However, the great majority of mathematics education research lacks a theoretical understanding of how the problems it tries to solve are related with broader social and political structures in society. In this chapter, we will make a contribution to this understanding, by analyzing how social discourses and forms of ideology permeate the way mathematics education research engages with the issues of equity and quality. We base our reflections on theoretical tools drawn from the philosophy of Gert Biesta and Slavoj Žižek. Our argument is that exclusion and inequity within mathematics education and education in general are integral parts of current school education and cannot be conceptualized without understanding the relation between school education and capitalism as the dominant mode of social living.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this context, the Lacanian notion of big Other stands for all the State, Justice and Law that give symbolic meaning to our social life.

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Acknowledgment

This chapter is part of Alexandre Pais’ PhD study, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal, grant SFRH/BD/38231/2007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Learning, Education and Philosophy, Aalborg University, Fibigerstræde 10, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark

    Alexandre Pais

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  1. Alexandre Pais
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  2. Paola Valero
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Correspondence to Alexandre Pais .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University of Technology, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Bill Atweh

  2. University of the Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand, 2050, South Africa

    Mellony Graven

  3. College of Arts and Science, University, Miami, 45056, USA

    Walter Secada

  4. Dept. Education, Learning &, Philosophy, Aalborg University, Fibigerstraede 10, Aalborg, 9220, Denmark

    Paola Valero

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Pais, A., Valero, P. (2010). Beyond Disavowing the Politics of Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education. In: Atweh, B., Graven, M., Secada, W., Valero, P. (eds) Mapping Equity and Quality in Mathematics Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9803-0_3

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