Challenges in School Mathematics Curriculum Reform in India: Transforming Teacher Practices Through Pedagogical Innovations

Abstract

Over the last four decades, India has seen tremendous growth and change in the field of education, especially mathematics education. There has been a growing awareness in India for the need to improve student learning in a continually changing and highly demanding environment. In facing this challenge, it is essential to understand the complexity of the educational system and the multitude of problems it comes with. Over the years, India has made small but significant efforts in the form of intervention at various levels in K-12 mathematics education. These efforts have begun to indicate the direction in which we need to put in our efforts for improving both student thinking and learning and teacher pedagogical practices. In this chapter, we will discuss how India’s mathematics education is changing through various governmental and non-governmental initiatives, national curriculum framework reforms and activities to popularize mathematics. While these have been evolving, one of the continuing challenges that have been identified in India is teacher preparation and a good model for teacher professional development at the in-service and pre-service levels. We will discuss how one can tackle this problem through engagement of teachers in novel pedagogical practices both inside and outside of classrooms, through creation of rich tasks and problems with varying levels of cognitive demand, through recognition of multiple approaches to problem solving in a classroom and through a culture of lesson study to promote a collaborative teacher network. Such innovative reforms will not only enhance the mathematics education curriculum in India but also will help prepare students with lifelong twenty-first-century skills including collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity.