CURRENT PROBLEMS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

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CURRENT PROBLEMS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

Journal Title: ФІЗИКО-МАТЕМАТИЧНА ОСВІТА - Year 2018, Vol 17, Issue 3

Abstract

From the origin of mathematics as an autonomous science two extreme philosophies about its orientation have been tacitly emerged: Formalism, where emphasis is given to the axiomatic foundation of the mathematical content and intuitionism, which focuses on the connection of the mathematical existence of an entity with the possibility of constructing it, thus turning the attention to problem-solving processes. Although none of the existing schools of mathematical thought, including formalism and intuitionism, have finally succeeded to find a solid framework for mathematics, most of the recent advances of this science were obtained through their disputes about the absolute mathematical truth. In particular, during the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the paradoxes of the set theory was the reason of an intense “war” between formalism and intuitionism, which however was extended much deeper into the mathematical thought. All these disputes created serious problems yo the sensitive area of mathematics education, the most characteristic being probably the failure of the introduction of the “New Mathematics” to the school curricula that distressed students and teachers for many years. In the present work current problems of mathematics education are investigated, such as the role of computers in the process of teaching and learning mathematics, the negligence of the Euclidean Geometry in the school curricula, the excessive emphasis given sometimes by the teachers to mathematical modeling and applications with respect to the acquisition of the mathematical content by students, etc. The future perspectives of teaching and learning mathematics at school and out of it are also discussed. The article is formulated as follows: A short introduction is attempted in the first Section to the philosophy of mathematics .The main ideas of formalism and intuitionism and their effects on the development of mathematics education are exposed in the next two Sections. The fourth Section deals with the main issues that currently occupy the interest of those working in the area of mathematics education and the article closes with the general conclusions stated in the fifth Section that mainly concern the future perspectives of mathematics education.

Authors and Affiliations

Michael Gr. Voskoglou

Keywords

Philosophy of Mathematics. Platonism. Paradoxes of Set Theory. Formalism. Intuitionism. Mathematics education. Problem-Solving. Mathematical Modeling. Computers in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics

EP ID EP423933
DOI 10.31110/2413-1571-2018-017-3-002
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