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The Cultural Dimension of Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge

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Mathematical Knowledge in Teaching

Part of the book series: Mathematics Education Library ((MELI,volume 50))

Abstract

In this chapter, we make a case for considering culture in research on teachers’ mathematical knowledge, and we review Chapters 7-10 with a focus on the interplay between the cultural context and mathematical knowledge for/in teaching. Our review illuminates three different, but complementary, aspects of the cultural embedding of mathematical knowledge for/in teaching. The first aspect, which is represented by the chapters of Andrews and Pepin, situates mathematical knowledge in teaching in the context of different national educational systems. The second aspect, which is represented by the chapter of Adler and Davis, situates mathematical knowledge for teaching in the context of diverse teacher education programmes. The final aspect, which is represented by the chapter of Williams, situates mathematical knowledge for teaching in the culture of a ‘knowledge economy’. We conclude by considering implications of the four chapters for teacher education research and practice.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For an overview of this argument, see Dale (2000).

  2. 2.

    In interpreting and describing Williams’s view, we paraphrased an expression attributed to McLuhan (1964, 1994) in Lewis H. Lapham’s introduction to the 1994 edition of Understanding Media: “we shape our tools and then our tools shape us” (p. xi). McLuhan’s actual quotation seems to be that “the beholding of idols, or the use of technology conforms men to them” (p. 45).

  3. 3.

    We use “teacher education” broadly to include both the initial training of pre-service teachers and the continued professional development of in-service teachers.

  4. 4.

    The apprenticeship-of-observation is a process through which students internalise (in the most part unconsciously) the practices of their own teachers. Lortie (1975) commented on the apprenticeship-of-observation: “[T]he apprenticeship-of-observation undergone by all who enter teaching begins the process of socialization in a particular way; it acquaints students with the tasks of the teacher and fosters the development of identifications with teachers” (p. 67).

  5. 5.

    According to Stigler and Hiebert (1999), people within an educational system share a mental picture of what teaching is like, that is, they share a “cultural script for teaching.” A major factor involved in the development of teachers’ cultural scripts for teaching is the apprenticeship-of-observation. Indeed, Stigler and Hiebert (1999) argued that “we learn how to teach indirectly, through years of participation in classroom life, and that we are largely unaware of some of the most widespread attributes of teaching in our own culture” (p. 11).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, UK

    Andreas J. Stylianides

  2. Marino Institute of Education, Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Seán Delaney

Authors
  1. Andreas J. Stylianides
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  2. Seán Delaney
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Correspondence to Andreas J. Stylianides .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Education, University of Cambridge, Hills Road 184, Cambridge, CB2 2PQ, United Kingdom

    Tim Rowland

  2. Fac. Education, University of Cambridge, Hills Road 184, Cambridge, CB2 2PQ, United Kingdom

    Kenneth Ruthven

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Stylianides, A.J., Delaney, S. (2011). The Cultural Dimension of Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge. In: Rowland, T., Ruthven, K. (eds) Mathematical Knowledge in Teaching. Mathematics Education Library, vol 50. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9766-8_11

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