Suzanne Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300094329
- eISBN:
- 9780300127539
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300094329.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Education
This book presents a history of efforts to reform mathematics education in California throughout the last two decades of the 20th century. That history is a contentious one, full of such fervour and ...
More
This book presents a history of efforts to reform mathematics education in California throughout the last two decades of the 20th century. That history is a contentious one, full of such fervour and heat that participants and observers often refer to the “math wars”. The book considers the many perspectives of those involved in math reform, weaving a tapestry of facts, philosophies, conversations, events, and personalities into the narrative. While the focus is on California, the implications of this book extend to struggles over education policy and practice throughout the United States. The book's three-dimensional account of math education reform efforts reveals how the debates tend to be deeply ideological and how people come to feel misunderstood and misrepresented. It examines the myths used to explain the failure of reforms, the actual reasons for failure, and the importance of taking multiple perspectives into account when planning and implementing reform.Less
This book presents a history of efforts to reform mathematics education in California throughout the last two decades of the 20th century. That history is a contentious one, full of such fervour and heat that participants and observers often refer to the “math wars”. The book considers the many perspectives of those involved in math reform, weaving a tapestry of facts, philosophies, conversations, events, and personalities into the narrative. While the focus is on California, the implications of this book extend to struggles over education policy and practice throughout the United States. The book's three-dimensional account of math education reform efforts reveals how the debates tend to be deeply ideological and how people come to feel misunderstood and misrepresented. It examines the myths used to explain the failure of reforms, the actual reasons for failure, and the importance of taking multiple perspectives into account when planning and implementing reform.
Suzanne M. Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300094329
- eISBN:
- 9780300127539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300094329.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Education
This chapter introduces the problems with regards to reforming mathematics education in California during the last two decades of the last century. It looks particularly at the curriculum wars that ...
More
This chapter introduces the problems with regards to reforming mathematics education in California during the last two decades of the last century. It looks particularly at the curriculum wars that ensued, the arguments that surround changes and evaluations of mathematics curricula. The “math wars” unfolded as a result of attempts to remedy the decline in national educational standards. In January 1998, Secretary of Education Richard Riley addressed mathematicians, asking for a cease-fire and calling for cooperation amongst warring parties towards more constructive and productive approaches for reform. The chapter looks at changes that occurred in mathematics education and the reception that each proposal underwent. It looks at how traditional mathematics teachings has been a target of criticism and a cause for concern in America, examining just how educators in the 1980s and 1990s tried to solved problems of teaching mathematics.Less
This chapter introduces the problems with regards to reforming mathematics education in California during the last two decades of the last century. It looks particularly at the curriculum wars that ensued, the arguments that surround changes and evaluations of mathematics curricula. The “math wars” unfolded as a result of attempts to remedy the decline in national educational standards. In January 1998, Secretary of Education Richard Riley addressed mathematicians, asking for a cease-fire and calling for cooperation amongst warring parties towards more constructive and productive approaches for reform. The chapter looks at changes that occurred in mathematics education and the reception that each proposal underwent. It looks at how traditional mathematics teachings has been a target of criticism and a cause for concern in America, examining just how educators in the 1980s and 1990s tried to solved problems of teaching mathematics.
