` Contemporary thinking on philosophy and the social sciences has been dominated by analyses that emphasise the importance of language in understanding societies and individuals functioning within them; important developments which have been under-utilised by researchers in mathematics education. This book reaches out to contemporary work in these broader fields; drawing on original sources in key areas such as Gadamer and Ricoeur's development of hermeneutics, Habermas' work in critical social theory, Schutz's social phenomenology, Saussure's linguistics and the post-structuralist analysis of Derrida, Foucault and Barthes. Through examining the writings of these major thinkers it is shown how language is necessarily instrumental in developing mathematical understanding; but a language that is in a permanent state of becoming, resisting stable connections to the ideas it locates. The analysis offered extends from children doing mathematics to teachers inspecting and developing their own professional practices. '

Autorentext

Tony Brown is Professor of Mathematics Education at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research mainly considers mathematics education and teacher education through the lens of contemporary social theory. He has written nine previous books and many journal articles in these areas.

Inhalt
Short Review of Recent Research.- Experiencing Mathematics.- Hermeneutics and Mathematics Education.- The Production of Mathematical Meaning: A Post-Structuralist Perspective.- Sharing Mathematical Perspectives.- The Classroom Environment.- Some Lessons.- The Phenomenology of the Mathematics Classroom.- The Teacher's Perspective.- Teacher-Student Interactions.- Developing Teacher Practice.- Conclusion.- Conclusion.