Preface to Part I

Abstract

Some approaches to the transformation of mathematics instruction might involve indirect approaches such as: change teacher education, change the curriculum or change assessment. It can be safely assumed that changes to teacher education, changes to the curriculum or changes to assessment will have their consequences for instruction. Part I of this book takes the direct route and addresses the possibility of changing mathematics instruction directly. But the other parts of this book remind us that any such change in instructional practice must occur within the constraints imposed by the curriculum, by existing assessment practices and by the teacher education programmes that equip teachers to engage in transformative practice. Acknowledging the significance of these different contexts within which we might attempt the transformation of instruction, the question remains: “In what direction, for what purpose and in what form might mathematics instruction be transformed?” The chapters in Part I offer some possible answers to this question.