M Is Not Just for STEM: How Myths about the Purposes of Mathematics Education Have Narrowed Mathematics Curricula in the United States

Abstract

When public schooling was first introduced in the United States, early proponents emphasized the need for mathematics as critical for an informed citizenry in a democracy. Half a century later, this purpose of mathematics has been almost entirely overshadowed by the push for mathematics to maintain technological and economic advantages. The belief that preparation for technological careers is, and has historically been, the only purpose for school mathematics in the US has become a myth widely believed by the public and policymakers alike. As this myth took hold, mathematics curricula were narrowed, incorporating only the mathematics, and applications of mathematics, that supported this specific purpose. Not only does this narrowing of school mathematics negatively impact the development of informed citizens, but it limits the extent to which mathematics can be studied in ways that engage all learners. The emergence of mathematics for social justice is thus-in part-an attempt to recapture the broader purposes of school mathematics.

The Relationship between Problem-Solving Ability and Students' Characters Based on Islamic Perspectives

“…The complex phenomena in mathematics are related to other fields of science, which are the fields of practice, technology, culture, religion, teaching structures, and both the school learning and community learning. The main problem faced in learning mathematics is to link related mathematical content and organized relationship systems to all learning partners (students, teachers, and learning environments) who take part in realizing mathematics learning and can integrate it in a comprehensive educational and social context such as problems in everyday life (Diani, Herliantari, Irwandani, Saregar, & Umam, 2019;Raymond, 2018). Phenomena in mathematics can be found in our daily life problem, like in trade process, alms (zakat) calculation, bequest calculation, and many more.…”

Mathematics and interdisciplinary STEM education: recent developments and future directions

“…It was rarer still to find studies that asked "why" mathematics should be integrated into STEM education -or not. One example is Raymond's (2018) historical analysis of the positioning of mathematics education in the United States, in which she observed a shift away from valuing of mathematics for informed and democratic citizenship towards a "push for mathematics to maintain technological and economic advantages" (p. 1)-commonly recognised by referring to mathematics as the "M in STEM". She argued that the turn towards STEM has spread a myth about the purpose of mathematics education, now widely believed by the public and policy makers, that has led to a narrowing of the mathematics curriculum and distortion of wider social purposes of mathematics.…”

Web-Based Window Shopping: A Learning Model in High School's Mathematics Curriculum

“…Moreover, the rapid post-pandemic development of information technology caused a transition in web-based mathematics learning during the implementation of independent curriculum. Meanwhile, students will need technological and mathematical skills for future careers [20]. Therefore, developing a web-based mathematical learning model is essential to implement the recentlyremodeled mathematics curriculum.…”