Abstract
This essay reviews the principles motivating contemporarycritical mathematics discourses. Drawing from varied critical discourses including ethno-mathematics, critical theory, post-structural theory, and situated and ecological cognition, the essay examines the pragmatics of critiques to the privileged role of school mathematics in the era of globalization. Critiques of modern school curricula argue that globalization practices linking education to technological and economic development are increasing, and the curriculum is being re-defined through discourses of privatization, national standards, and global competitiveness. Globalization has reinforced the utilitarian approach to school mathematics and the Western bias in the prevailing mathematics curricula, as well as helped to globalize pervasive mathematical ideologies. In most instances, a newfound status that mathematics is enjoying in this era of globalization is not well deserved, as school mathematics can no longer be considered culturally, socially, politically, nor economically neutral. In particular, school mathematics is increasingly critiqued as a cultural homogenizing force, a critical filter for status, a perpetuator of mistaken illusions of certainty, and an instrument of power. With such concerns it is becoming more evident that mathematics learning and education have implications for building just and democratic societies. As an African female scholar who is now living in Canada, I reflect on what the critical stance might mean for contexts with which I am familiar. I discuss the challenges of school mathematics with a view to improving curriculum and pedagogy so as to raise the awareness of teachers and learners to the questionable assumptions from which mathematics derives its prestige. The mathematics curriculum is central to cultivating values as well as fostering the conscientization of learners.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abraham, J. & Bibby, N. (1988). Mathematics and society: Ethnomathematics and a public educator curriculum.For the Learning of Mathematics,8(2), 2–11.
Apple, M.W. (1992). Do the standards go far enough? Power, policy and practice in mathematics education.Journal of Research in Mathematics Education,23, 412–431.
Bishop, A.J. (1997). Western mathematics: The secret weapon of cultural imperialism. In B. Ashcroft (Eds.),Post colonial studies reader (pp. 71–76). London: Routledge.
Borba, M.C., & Skovsmose, O. (1997). The ideology of certainty in mathematics education.For the Learning of Mathematics,17(3), 17–23.
Chassapis, D. (1997). The social ideologies of school mathematics applications: A case study of elementary school textbooks.For the Learning of Mathematics,17(3), 24–26.
Confrey, J. (1995). The theory of intellectual development.For the Learning of Mathematics,15(2), 36–45.
Confrey, J. (1999). Voice, perspective, bias and stance: Applying and modifying Piagetan theory in mathematics education. In L. Burton (Ed.),Learning mathematics, from hierarchies to networks (pp. 3–20). London: Falmer Press
Davis, B. (2001). Why teach mathematics to all students?For the Learning of Mathematics,21(1), 17–24.
Davis, P.J. & Hersh, R. (1981).The mathematical experience. Boston: Birkhäuser.
Davis, P.J. & Hersh, R. (1986).Descartes’ dream: The world according to mathematics (1st ed.). San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
D’Ambrosio, U. (1985). Ethnomathematics and its place in the history and pedagogy of mathematics.For the Learning of Mathematics,5(1), 44–48.
D’Ambrosio, U. (1990). The role of mathematics education in building democratic and just society.For the Learning of Mathematics,10(3), 20–23.
D’Ambrosio, U. (2001). What is ethnomathematics, and can it help children in schools?Teaching Children Mathematics,7(6), 308–310.
Denvir, B. (1988). What are we assessing in mathematics and what are we assessing for? In D. Pimm (Ed.),Mathematics and teacher education (pp. 128–140). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Fasheh, M. (1997). Is math in the classroom neutral — or dead? A view from Palestine.For the Learning of Mathematics,17(2), 24–27.
Galbraith, P. (1988). Mathematics education and the future: A long wave of change.For the Learning of Mathematics,8(3), 27–33.
Ghever Ghese, G. J. (1991).The crest of the Peacock: Non-European roots of mathematics. London: Penguin Books
Gerdes, P. (1999).Geometry from Africa: Mathematical and educational explorations. Washington, DC: The Mathematical Association of America.
Julian, B. (1994). The lore of numbers. In F. Swertz (Ed.),From five fingers to infinity: A journey through the history of mathematics (pp. 97–101). Chicago: Open court.
Jardine, D.W. (1998).To dwell with a boundless heart: Essays in curriculum theory, hermeneutics, and the ecological imagination. New York: Peter Lang.
Kachur, J. & Harrison, T. (1999). Public education, globalization, and democracy: Whither Alberta? In T. Harrison & J. Kachur (Eds.),Contested classrooms (pp. xiii-xxxiv). Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta.
Lakoff, G. & Núñez, R.E. (2001).Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. New York: Basic Books.
Lee, J. (2002). Racial and ethnic achievement gap trends: Reversing the progress toward equity.Educational Researcher,31(1), 3–12.
Moore, C.G. (1994). Research in Native American mathematics education.For the Learning of Mathematics,14(2), 9–14.
Nandy, A. (1987).Reconstructing childhood. Traditions, tryranny, and utopias: Essay in the politics of awareness. Delhi: Oxford.
Pimm, D. (1988).Mathematics and teacher education. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Pinxten, R. (1994a). Anthropology in the mathematics classroom? In S. Lerman (Ed.),Cultural perspectives on the mathematics classroom (pp. 85–114). Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Pinxten, R. (1994b). Ethnomathematics and its practice.For the Learning of Mathematics,14(2), 23–25.
Polya, G. (1957/1973).How to solve it: A new aspect of mathematics (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Saxe, G.B., & Posner, J. (1983). The development of numerical cognition. In H.B. Ginsburg (Ed.),The development of mathematical thinking (pp. 292–318). New York: Academic Press.
Skovsmose, O. (1990). Mathematical education and democracy.Educational Studies in Mathematics,21, 109–128.
Sleeter, C.E. (1997). Mathematics, multicultural education, and professional development.Journal of Research in Mathematics Education,28, 680–696.
Smith, D.G. (2000). The specific challenges of globalization for teaching and vice versa.The Alberta Journal of Educational Research,46 (1), 7–26.
Spring, J. (1998).Education and the rise of the global economy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Tate, F.T. (1997). Race-ethnicity, SES, gender, and language proficiency in mathematics achievement: An update.Journal of Research in Mathematics Education,28, 652–679.
Trickett, L. & Sulke, F. (1988). In D. Pimm (Ed.),Mathematics and teacher education (pp. 109–117). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Vithal, R. & Skovsmose, O (1997). The end of innocence: A critique of ‘Ethnomathematics.’Educational Studies in Mathematics,34, 131–157
Walkerdine, V. (1990). Difference, cognition, and mathematics education.For the Learning of Mathematics,10(3), 51–55.
Wright, P. (1998). Maths and human rights education.Mathematics Teaching,163, 58–59.
Zaslavsky, C. (1994). “Africa counts” and ethnomathematics.For the Learning of Mathematics,14(2), 2–6.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Namukasa, I. School mathematics in the era of globalization. Interchange 35, 209–227 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698850
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698850