Philosophy of Mathematical Education

Author: Zheng Yuxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: This book is the final outcome of the National Education Commission's "Eighth Five-Year Plan" for humanities and social sciences research projects. It is part of the "Mathematics·Philosophy·Culture·Education Series" and discusses the three fundamental questions of mathematics education from a philosophical perspective: What is mathematics? Why is mathematics education necessary? How should mathematics teaching be conducted? It is believed that this book will be helpful and inspiring for theoretical research in mathematics education, especially for mathematics teachers. This book is part of the "Mathematics·Philosophy·Culture·Education Series." This book represents a conscious effort to establish a systematic theoretical framework for mathematics education philosophy, aiming to provide a relatively independent theoretical foundation for the in-depth development of mathematics education from a philosophical height. The in-depth analysis of the following three fundamental questions of mathematics education constitutes the main content of this book: What is mathematics? Why is mathematics education necessary? How should mathematics education be conducted? In addition, compared to specific content, this book also emphasizes the transformation of concepts: This first refers to the revolution in the concept of mathematics, shifting from a static, absolutist, and mechanical reflectionist view of mathematics to a dynamic, dialectical, and model-theoretic view. Secondly, it refers to the fundamental transformation of mathematics teaching concepts, that is, mathematics learning should not be seen as the passive reception of knowledge granted by teachers, but as an active social construction process based on students' existing knowledge and experience. Furthermore, as a specific analysis of the goals of mathematics education, this book also addresses major theoretical and practical issues such as the fundamental contradictions of mathematics education and the modernization of mathematics education. This book primarily reflects the author's independent research achievements, thus representing the active contributions of Chinese scholars to the emerging field of philosophy of mathematics education.