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International Handbook of Mathematics Education pp 1257–1288Cite as

Critical Mathematics Education

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Part of the Kluwer International Handbooks of Education book series (SIHE,volume 4)

Abstract

Critical Mathematics education is described in terms of ‘concerns’ which cover the following issues:

  1. a)

    Citizenship identifies schooling as including the preparation of students to be an active part of political life.

  2. b)

    Mathematics may serve as a tool for identifying and analysing critical features of society, which may be global as well as having to do with the local environment of students.

  3. c)

    The students’ interest emphasises that the main focus of education cannot be the transformation of (pure) knowledge; instead educational practice must be understood in terms of acting persons.

  4. d)

    Culture and conflicts raise basic questions about discrimination. Does mathematics education reproduce inequalities which might be established by factors outside education but, nevertheless, are reinforced by educational practice?

  5. e)

    Mathematics itself might be problematic because of the function of mathematics as part of modem technology, which no longer can be reviewed with optimism. Mathematics is not only a tool for critique but also an object of critique.

  6. f)

    Critical mathematics education concentrates on life in the classroom to the extent that the communication between teacher and students can reflect power relations.

Keywords

  • Critical Thinking
  • Educational Practice
  • Mathematic Classroom
  • Project Work
  • Sociological Imagination

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, Denmark

    Ole Skovsmose & Lene Nielsen

  2. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Ole Skovsmose & Lene Nielsen

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  1. Ole Skovsmose
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  2. Lene Nielsen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Alan J. Bishop

  2. Universiti Brunei, Darussalam, Brunei

    Ken Clements

  3. Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

    Christine Keitel

  4. The University of Georgia, USA

    Jeremy Kilpatrick

  5. Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France

    Colette Laborde

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Skovsmose, O., Nielsen, L. (1996). Critical Mathematics Education. In: Bishop, A.J., Clements, K., Keitel, C., Kilpatrick, J., Laborde, C. (eds) International Handbook of Mathematics Education. Kluwer International Handbooks of Education, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1465-0_36

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