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Revisiting Mathematics for All: A Commentary to Pais’s Critique

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The Disorder of Mathematics Education

Abstract

Doubts have been expressed whether research and development in mathematics education really support improvement of the processes of teaching and learning mathematics at school. The critique says that programmatic endeavours, such as “mathematics for all”, tend to end up in rhetorical claims that conceal the structural conditions of inequity of institutionalised instruction. In this chapter, which is inspired by several publications of Alexandre Pais, I argue for further reflections on the demands of mathematical knowledge in contemporary society. The topic of universality of mathematical education is the pivot around which historical, functional, emancipatory and political issues unfold.

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Acknowledgments

I want to thank Anna Llewellyn, Candia Morgan and the editors of this volume for their helpful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Uwe Gellert

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  1. Uwe Gellert
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Correspondence to Uwe Gellert .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Hauke Straehler-Pohl

  2. Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Nina Bohlmann

  3. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Alexandre Pais

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Gellert, U. (2017). Revisiting Mathematics for All: A Commentary to Pais’s Critique. In: Straehler-Pohl, H., Bohlmann, N., Pais, A. (eds) The Disorder of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34006-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34006-7_5

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