Classroom Studies—Sociological Perspectives

Abstract

The specific aspects of Classroom Studies, as a focus within the German Speaking Traditions in Mathematics Education Research, rest on the fundamental sociological orientation on mathematics lessons. Initiated by the works of Heinrich Bauersfeld, the first sociological perspective unfolds its power of description by reconstructing social processes regarding the negotiation of meaning and the social constitution of shared knowledge through collective argumentation in the daily practice of mathematic lessons. A second sociological perspective aims at the reconstruction of the conditions and the structure surrounding the construction of performance and success in mathematics lessons.