Problematising the pursuit of progress in mathematics education

Llewellyn, A.

doi:10.1007/s10649-015-9645-8

Problematising the pursuit of progress in mathematics education

Llewellyn, A.

Authors

Dr Anna Llewellyn a.e.llewellyn@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor

Abstract

In this article, I use a Foucauldian poststructural analysis to examine productions of progress within key discursive spaces of mathematics education. These sites of production are educational policy, mathematics education research and case studies of primary school student-teachers in England. From my analysis, I show how progress governs what is possible in the classroom, as they become constructed around a measurable, linear temporality assumed in educational policy. This encourages comparison to and pursuit of the “normal” mathematical child, which in educational policy is produced as a functional automaton, whilst for much of mathematics education research is produced as the cognitive “natural” child. These over sanitised constructions result in confusion for student-teachers who struggle to take these impossible discourses on board.

Citation

Llewellyn, A. (2016). Problematising the pursuit of progress in mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 92(3), 299-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-015-9645-8

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 31, 2015
Online Publication Date	Oct 13, 2015
Publication Date	Jul 1, 2016
Deposit Date	Nov 2, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Oct 13, 2016
Journal	Educational Studies in Mathematics
Print ISSN	0013-1954
Electronic ISSN	1573-0816
Publisher	Springer
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	92
Issue	3
Pages	299-314
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-015-9645-8