Mathematics Education and Language

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      Pages 1-6

   2. Short Review of Recent Research

      Pages 7-20

3. Experiencing Mathematics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-24

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   2. Hermeneutics and Mathematics Education

      Pages 25-54

   3. The Production of Mathematical Meaning: A Post-Structuralist Perspective

      Pages 55-77

   4. Sharing Mathematical Perspectives

      Pages 78-102

4. The Classroom Environment

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 99-102

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   2. Some Lessons

      Pages 103-131

   3. The Phenomenology of the Mathematics Classroom

      Pages 132-158

5. The Teacher’s Perspective

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-158

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   2. Teacher-Student Interactions

      Pages 159-171

   3. Developing Teacher Practice

      Pages 172-213

6. Conclusion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 212-213

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   2. Conclusion

      Pages 214-243

7. Back Matter

   Pages 244-270

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`Contemporary thinking on philosophy and the social sciences has been dominated by analyses that emphasise the importance of language in understanding societies and individuals functioning within them; important developments which have been under-utilised by researchers in mathematics education. This book reaches out to contemporary work in these broader fields; drawing on original sources in key areas such as Gadamer and Ricoeur's development of hermeneutics, Habermas' work in critical social theory, Schutz's social phenomenology, Saussure's linguistics and the post-structuralist analysis of Derrida, Foucault and Barthes. Through examining the writings of these major thinkers it is shown how language is necessarily instrumental in developing mathematical understanding; but a language that is in a permanent state of becoming, resisting stable connections to the ideas it locates. The analysis offered extends from children doing mathematics to teachers inspecting and developing their own professional practices.'

• Mathematica
• education
• function
• mathematics
• philosophy

`Mathematics Education and Language is a highly recommendable book. The book contains many richly described episodes of mathematical activities.'
Linguistics and Education, 12:2 (2001)

• Didsbury School of Education, The Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

  Tony Brown

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