Scanning and Scoping of Values and Valuing in Mathematics Education

Abstract

Although the ideas of values and valuing have been totemic notions in education for forever, when applied to mathematics they become quite problematic. Even today for many mathematic teachers and learners, mathematics is a value-free space. For them, school mathematics is learning the skills of manipulating numbers before moving to the more abstract ideas of algebra, and occasionally delving into geometry and measurement ideas. Likewise teaching mathematics in schools is ensuring students get good marks on the tests and examinations using whatever pedagogical techniques ensure this. Although in schools this is still the prevailing attitude to mathematics, nevertheless for some decades there has been a growing counter position in mathematics education research that problematizes and challenges this orthodoxy. It has argued that at a fundamental level there are mathematical values that underpin the doing of mathematics, and indeed the same is true for mathematics pedagogy. This chapter briefly explores a number of these notions as it introduces the various chapters in this volume.

Mathematical, Mathematics Educational, and Educational Values in Mathematical Modeling Tasks

“…For example, Dede (2014), in a study that compares the values of mathematics teachers in Germany and Turkey, has determined that the teachers’ values vary according to culture. Similar results were obtained from the “Third Wave Project” coordinated by Wee Tiong Seah, which included 20 different economies and 23 research teams in the world with different cultures (see Clarkson et al, 2019).…”

“…This is an indication that there is not only one education system that can be effective in all education systems because effective education processes cannot be thought independently of culture (Seah & Wong, 2012). Although mathematics was initially thought culture-free and value-free (Bishop, 1991), it is also a value-laden discipline, and different cultures produce different mathematical values (Clarkson et al, 2019). For example, Dede (2014), in a study that compares the values of mathematics teachers in Germany and Turkey, has determined that the teachers' values vary according to culture.…”

“…Borromeo Ferri (2015), for example, found differences in Western and Eastern cultures in her study of mathematical thinking styles. Different cultures produce different values (Dede, 2013, 2014; Clarkson et al, 2019) and differentiate accordingly in teaching (Seah, 2003). Because the values reflect the characteristics of the cultures (Cooper et al, 2007; Seah, 2003), the values involved in mathematical modeling tasks which are created according to different perspectives and the values reflected in the tasks prepared by the researchers educated/trained in different cultures may also vary.…”

Students’ Mathematics Educational Values in Problem-Solving at Senior High School

“…During mathematics instruction, students are expected to not only obtain knowledge through learning materials, but also to understand the values contained (Clarkson, Seah, & Pang, 2019). The values described in mathematics classroom are general educational, mathematical, and the mathematic educational (Daher, 2021).…”

Feeling Good and Functioning Well in Mathematics Education: Exploring Students’ Conceptions of Mathematical Well-Being and Values

“…Yet within Australia, like many countries worldwide, mathematics education is facing challenges. Despite the significant financial investment to improve the way in which mathematics is taught to and received by students, student engagement in mathematics generally has remained low, with negative emotions and poor attitudes toward the subject persistently reported by many students (Clarkson et al, 2019). Secondary students are especially more likely to perceive mathematics to be emotionally challenging, boring, and unenjoyable (Attard, 2013; Grootenboer & Marshman, 2015).…”