Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory pp 1414–1419Cite as

Mathematics Education as a Matter of Policy

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 36 Accesses

Synonyms

Governmentality; Mathematics; Policy; Reform

Introduction

Mathematics is a subject that makes part of compulsory schooling, vocational education, and also a wide range of further higher studies. It is an area that became highly regulated by policies in the past and in the current functioning of massive education systems. Citizens’ mathematical knowledge and competence are considered fundamental for the maintenance of modern forms of life. More recently, mathematical achievement is taken to be an important indicator of school success and, with it, individual and social progress. Thinking of mathematics education as a matter of policy posits pedagogical and educational processes related to mathematics in the terrain of biopolitical technologies for the governing of teachers, students, and school administrators (by the others and by themselves) and, in ultimate instance, populations. This means conceiving of mathematics education in terms of governmentality (Foucault 2014).

The...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   949.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Atweh, B., Graven, M., Secada, W., & Valero, P. (Eds.). (2011). Mapping equity and quality in mathematics education. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bascia, N., Cumming, A., Datnow, A., Leithwood, K., & Livingstone, D. (Eds.). (2005). Introduction. International handbook of educational policy (pp. xiii–xxxvi). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besley, Y., & Peters, M. (2007). Subjectivity & truth: Foucault, education, and the culture of self. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, A. J., Clements, M. A., Keitel, C., Kilpatrick, J., & Leung, F. K. S. (2003). Second international handbook of mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz, J. D. (2014). Governing equality. European Education, 45(3), 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (2014). On the government of the living. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyles, C., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (2013). Policy implications of developing mathematics education research. In M. A. Clements, A. J. Bishop, C. Keitel, J. Kilpatrick, & F. K. S. Leung (Eds.), Third international handbook of mathematics education (pp. 485–515). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanes, C., Morgan, C., & Tsatsaroni, A. (2014). The PISA mathematics regime: Knowledge structures and practices of the self. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 87(2), 145–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knijnik, G., & Wanderer, F. (2015). Mathematics education in Brazilian rural areas: An analysis of the public policy and the landless movement pedagogy. Open Review of Educational, 2(2015), 143–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maaß, K., & Artigue, M. (2013). Implementation of inquiry-based learning in day-to-day teaching: A synthesis. ZDM, 45(6), 779–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margolinas, C., & Drijvers, P. (2015). Didactical engineering in France; An insider’s and an outsider’s view on its foundations, its practice and its impact. ZDM, 47(6), 893–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valero, P. (2017). Mathematics for all, economic growth, and the making of the citizen-worker. In T. Popkewitz, J. Diaz, & C. Kirchgasler (Eds.), A political sociology of educational knowledge: Studies of exclusions and difference (pp. 119–134). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valero, P., & Knijnik, G. (2015). Governing the modern, neoliberal child through ICT research in mathematics education. For the Learning of Mathematics, 35(2), 34–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vithal, R., Adler, J., & Keitel, C. (2005). Researching mathematics education in South Africa: Perspectives, practices, and possibilities. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walls, F. (2009). Mathematical subjects: Children talk about their mathematics lives. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 20A, 114 18, Stockholm, Sweden

    Paola Valero

  2. Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Sao Leopoldo, Brazil

    Gelsa Knijnik

Authors
  1. Paola Valero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gelsa Knijnik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paola Valero .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Michael A. Peters

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 20A, 114 18, Stockholm, Sweden

    Paola Valero

  2. Graduate Program on Education, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Sao Leopoldo, Brazil

    Gelsa Knijnik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Valero, P., Knijnik, G. (2017). Mathematics Education as a Matter of Policy. In: Peters, M.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-588-4_523

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation