Module 12
Issues and Trends in Mathematics

Introduction
Mathematics is a dynamic, useful, and creative human endeavor. Learning
mathematics is beneficial to all. It provides structure and strategies for solving
life’s problems.

But why are so many students failing the subject? This is the issue at the heart of
mathematics education. Gender, socio-economic background, race and culture
have been shown to impact mathematical learning. These factors could
determine a student’s success or failure in mathematics.

Two other critical issues that challenge mathematicians and mathematics

educators are:
• How can mathematics change relations in society, and how can it promote
equity and social justice?
• What is the nature of mathematical knowledge, and the contributions of non-
Western societies to mathematics?

Questions about the nature of mathematics, how history, politics, social

organizations and culture contribute to the development of mathematical
knowledge, as well as understanding how mathematical learning occurs drive
and inspire research and innovation to make mathematics accessible to
everyone.

This module gives space for UP students like you to discuss important and
current issues around mathematics, bring in perspectives from your own
disciplines, and develop your own analysis and framework for understanding the
critical role mathematics plays in building a just and humane society. As in the
other modules, this section of the course requires you to do a lot of reading of
articles and research materials outside of class hours.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Discuss historical, socio-economic, cultural, and political issues in

mathematics, including mathematics education;
2. Identify and analyze trends with regard to making mathematics accessible
to different groups of people; and
3. Critically reflect on issues facing mathematics education in the country.

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Suggested Topics: The issues that you will initially explore under this module
may fall under three general categories. These are: trends in mathematics;
mathematics and difference; and mathematical education. This is a simplified
categorization, over-lapping, and a non-exhaustive list of general issues
concerning mathematics and mathematics educations. Other issues emerge as
we continually attempt to understand the dynamics of how mathematics is taught
and learned, and the critical roles the fields of mathematics and mathematics
education have to play in society and in nation building. The topics included in
this module do not cover the breadth and depth of issues and trends in
mathematics and mathematics education. What this module does is to touch on
illustrative issues, and it encourages you to read and research on the other
issues and trends not covered here.

1. Trends in Mathematics

Is mathematics really largely a Greek and European creation? What might be the
contributions of non-Western societies to the development of what is now known
as mathematics? Is it value-free and culture-free? Should students use
calculators in learning mathematics?

As a human construct, mathematics has history, is dynamic and continues to

evolve. Some trends that we shall consider in this section are ethnomathematics
and the increasing ubiquity of technology in mathematics.

1.1 Ethnomathematics: Issues about Mathematics and Culture

Ethnomathematics is a field of study that looks at the interplay of mathematics

and culture. Research in this field is “committed to critiquing the dominant
discourse that constructs Western mathematics as the mathematics, a singular
mathematics that is both universal and value-free” (Hottinger, 2016). One view
about ethnomathematics is that it challenges Eurocentrism in Western
mathematics (Powell & Frankenstein, 1997).

The history of mathematics generally follows a Eurocentric trajectory that views

mathematics as an exclusive product of European civilization (Joseph, 2009).
This is the reason for the phrase Western (or European) mathematics.

Ethnomathematics reflects a concern for the socio-cultural bases of

mathematics, or the kind of mathematics that develops within a socio-cultural
environment. In fact some scholars equate socio-cultural mathematics with
ethnomathematics, although the latter has a more ambitious research agenda
encompassing history, politics, philosophy, culture and pedagogy.

One of the tasks of ethnomathematics is uncovering mathematical ideas

embedded in cultural practices and artifacts. Some of these ideas have been
hidden, frozen, subjugated, or marginalized during the colonization of non-

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Western societies. Paulus Gerdes was a mathematician and mathematics

educator in Mozambique who pioneered in this task, and his works with his
students on African geometry and fractals have been published in journals and
books. His article “On Culture, Geometrical Thinking, and Mathematics
Education” in Powell & Frankenstein (1999) shows how uncovering mathematical
ideas in cultural practice can help in cultural affirmation and conscientization.

Alan Bishop’s seminal work entitled Western mathematics: the secret weapon of
cultural imperialism confronts the myth of mathematics as being culture-free
knowledge, and opens up to the view of mathematics as a pan-cultural
phenomenon (Bishop, 1990).

ACTIVITY 1.1: Workshop (45 minutes). The class will divide into 3 groups and
each group will choose from any of the following articles:

Article 1: The History of Mathematics: Alternative Perspectives (Chapter One of

the book The Crest of the Peacock by George Joseph);
Article 2: On Culture, Geometrical Thinking and Mathematics Education by
Paulus Gerdes (Chapter 11 of the book Ethnomathematics: Challenging
Eurocentrism in Mathematics Education authored by Arthur Powell and Marilyn
Frankenstein); or
Article 3: Western mathematics: the secret weapon of cultural imperialism by
Alan Bishop

Each group will then choose one proposition to discuss from the list below. You
will be asked to present the result of your group’s discussion to the entire class,
presenting points of agreements and disagreements (and how you resolved
these if at all).

Proposition 1: There is no such thing as Western Mathematics.

Proposition 2: Mathematics is culture-free and universal.
Proposition 3: Mathematics is a tool for cultural imperialism.

1.2 The Interplay of Mathematics and Technology

Technology is becoming an important tool in mathematical research and

pedagogy. Computer simulations help visualize the dynamics captured in
mathematical models, and provide new insights about phenomena being
modeled. Computers, graphics calculators, interactive smart boards and various
apps are increasingly being used to aid in mathematical learning, with research
showing these can be used effectively to deepen conceptual understanding.
However, one issue concerning the use of technology has to do with access. Not
all schools, not all teachers, and not all students have the capacity to acquire
these technological tools to aid them in teaching and research in the case of

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schools and teachers, and learning in the case of students. Another issue is the
readiness of teachers to employ technologies like computers and graphics
calculators in their mathematics instruction.

The growing use of digital technology is also influencing how students are
accessing mathematical knowledge. A collaborative research reported at the 13th
International Congress on Mathematics Education in 2016 entitled Digital
Technology in Mathematics Education: Research over the Last Decade identifies
mobile technologies, massive open online courses (MOOCs), digital libraries and
designing learning objects, collaborative learning using digital technology, and
teacher training using blended learning as important trends of development in the
area of mathematics education and (digital) technology. See Article 4.

ACTIVITY 1.2: Research on the increasing importance of technology in

mathematics research and mathematics education, and identify the issues and
debates surrounding the topic Mathematics and Technology. You may be asked
to report your findings in class.

2. Mathematics and difference

Do students from rich and poor families have the same chance of succeeding in
mathematics? Should the teaching of math be the same across ethnic groups? Is
language important in teaching mathematics?

These questions have to do with the issue of inclusivity in mathematics. In the

next module, you will learn the issues surrounding mathematics and gender. In
this section, we will discuss two issues touching on mathematics and difference:
the first issue has to do with socioeconomic status as an important factor
impinging on success in mathematics learning; the second pertains to Indigenous
peoples and their access to quality and culturally relevant mathematics
education.

2.1 Socioeconomic status as determinant to success in mathematics

How does socioeconomic status (SES) affect academic achievement? According

to the American Psychological Association, research would show that students
from low SES households and communities are slower to develop academic
skills than those from higher SES groups. This relationship between SES and
academic achievement has been documented across developing as well as
developed countries.

How is this true in mathematics? Refer to Article 5 for an example of how SES
impacts academic performance in mathematics. The article is an excerpt from
the report on the results of New Zealand’s participation in the Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). TIMSS measures trends
in mathematics and science achievement at the 4th and 8th grades. The excerpt

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focuses on the trends in mathematics achievement in year 5 (4th grade) from

1994 to 2006.

ACTIVITY 2.1: After reading Article 5, answer the following questions:

1. List the proxy measures that were used in the study to represent
socioeconomic status. Explain why these items were used as proxy measures.
Give three other examples of possible proxy measures for SES relevant to the
Philippine context.
2. Describe how the proxy measures were used to arrive at the conclusion
that SES impacts achievement in mathematics. Search for similar studies done in
other countries and in the Philippines.
3. After reading other materials on this topic, explain why you agree or
disagree with the following observation:

Success in mathematics is not simply a matter of intelligence but is heavily

influenced by the student’s economic background. Difference in economic status
creates inequities in terms of accessing resources and opportunities that may
determine how a student succeeds or fails in mathematics.

4. Guided by the results of the TIMSS report in New Zealand and other
similar studies you have found, craft a brief policy recommendation for
lawmakers in order to address this issue in mathematics and mathematics
education in the Philippines.

2.2 Indigenous peoples and mathematics

Indigenous peoples have a long history of discrimination experienced and

reinforced in schools. How does mathematics reinforce discrimination? How can
mathematics help promote understanding of and respect for cultures?

The need for more inclusive education has seen the growth of culturally relevant
education for Indigenous peoples worldwide. Countries with a long history of
providing appropriate education for their indigenous groups include Canada, the
United States, Australia and New Zealand. Part of the task is to develop culturally
relevant mathematics education to help indigenous students succeed in
mathematics.

ACTIVITY 2.2: (45 minutes) Film Viewing

Aboriginal math education: Collaborative learning by Stavros Stavrou,
TEDxSaskatoon
Source: https://youtu.be/eHyvlrbCiAY
Length of Video: 9:44 minutes

The class divides into 4 groups to discuss the two questions below. Each group
will share its views to the entire class.

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1. What is different about Stavrou’s approach to teaching mathematics to

aboriginal students? What are the strengths of this approach? What are its
weaknesses?
2. What did he mean by anti-oppressive mathematics education? How did he
relate this to improving the learning of mathematics of aboriginal students?

The Philippine government institutionalized IP education in 2011 with the

issuance of Department Order No. 62 (D.O. 62 s. 2011), also known as the
National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework, by the Department of
Education. One of the policy statements in this framework is to “[a]dopt
appropriate basic education pedagogy, content, and assessment through the
integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) in all
learning areas and processes” (D.O. 62, p. 14).

Efforts are underway in developing mathematics curricula consistent with the

goals of this policy. The Department of Education is pursuing the localization and
contextualization of the basic education curriculum as part of its K-12 program.
The implementation of IP education follows this approach. In particular,
mathematics teachers are expected to develop mathematics lessons that are
localized and contextualized to indigenous culture in order to make mathematics
accessible to students.

Before government efforts to institutionalize IP education, several groups,

institutions and communities have already embarked on the challenge of making
education relevant to Indigenous students. One such program is PAMANA KA, a
school for Indigenous Mangyan in San Jose, Mindoro. Article 6 provides a brief
discussion on the experiences of the Indigenous peoples in the Philippines with
mainstream education, and presents the experience of PAMANA KA as a
successful model of school that provides culturally relevant mathematics
education to its Mangyan students.

ACTIVITY 2.3: After reading Article 6, write a short essay expressing your views
on the following question:

How can mathematics and mathematics education help promote equity and
diversity in society?

You may cite your own experiences as a student and/or by interviewing other
students and/or a math teacher.

3.0 Mathematics Education

Mathematics education concerns the practice of teaching and learning

mathematics. Developing a mathematically literate society is generally accepted

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as an important goal. For Ojose (2011), being mathematically literate is having

the knowledge and ability to apply basic mathematics in our day-to-day activities.
Thus, teaching mathematics is a crucial undertaking to build a mathematically
literate citizenry.

Mathematics education is a field that problematizes how mathematics is taught

effectively, and how mathematics learning takes place. It is a complex theoretical
field that looks at how philosophical, psychological, historical, political, socio-
economic, and cultural issues and factors affect the practice of teaching and
learning mathematics.

Mathematics education is also a complex theoretical field. Questions about how

language, gender, socio-economic status, and race are active research areas, as
discussed in section 1 of this module. The mathematics curriculum, which
concerns what mathematical knowledge needs to be taught and how it should be
taught, is seen to be a political undertaking, influenced by the current political
atmosphere and determined by the prevailing or dominant worldview.

One of the areas to emerge out of this view is Critical Mathematics Education. It
critiques mathematics education in two ways: internally, which is concerned
primarily with how mathematics is learned and taught; and externally, which is
concerned with the embeddedness of mathematics education and mathematics
within historical, cultural, social, and political contexts, and what these imply
(Greer & Skovsmose, 2012). Writing about mathematics education, David
Stinson believes teaching mathematics for social justice is both an ethical and
moral imperative. He argues that the mathematics classroom is a natural setting
and one of the first places where the problem of injustice in all its forms is tackled
(Stinson, 2014).

ACTIVITY 3.1: Write a critical review of Article 7: Eric (Rico) Gutstein’s

Mathematics as a Weapon in the Struggle.

The connection of mathematics education and democracy and social justice is

one of the research questions falling under the rubric of critical mathematics
education. How does mathematics education contribute to the achievement of
the democratic ideal of society? How can the teaching of mathematics lead to
social justice? These questions are particularly relevant to us in the Philippines,
as we continue to strengthen democracy and social justice three decades after
Martial Law and in view of continuing threats to undermine these.

ACTIVITY 3.2: Research on the current state of mathematics education in the

Philippines, identify strengths and weaknesses in policy, and suggest possible
directions and programs to help mathematics education build a critical citizenry
and democracy in Philippine society.

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List of Articles:

Article 1: The History of Mathematics: Alternative Perspectives by George G.

Joseph (2009). Chapter One of The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots
of Mathematics (3rd Ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Article 2: Considering Interactions between Culture and Mathematical

Knowledge by Arthur Powell and Marilyn Frankenstein (1997). Chapter 3 of
Ethnomathematics: Challenging Eurocentrism in Mathematics Education. Albany:
SUNY

Article 3: Western mathematics: the secret weapon of cultural imperialism by

Alan Bishop (1990). Race and Class 32(2), 51-65.

Article 4: Digital Technology in Mathematics Education: Research over the Last

Decade by Marcelo Borba, et. al. (2017). In G. Kaiser (Ed.). Proceedings of the
13th International Congress on Mathematical Education. Cham: Springer
International Publishing AG.

Article 5: Mathematics achievement by socio-economic status and home

educational resources by Robyn Caygill and Sarah Kirkham (2008). Mathematic:
Trends in year 5 mathematics achievement 1994 to 2006. New Zealand results
from three cycles of the Trends in the International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMMS). Wellington: Ministry of Education New Zealand.

Article 6: Ethnomathematics and Culturally Relevant Mathematics Education in

the Philippines by Wilfredo V. Alangui (2017). In M. Rosa, L. Shirley, ME
Gavarette & W. Alangui (Eds.). Ethnomathematics and its Diverse Approaches
for Mathematics Education. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG.

Article 7: Mathematics as a Weapon in the Struggle by Eric (Rico) Gutstein

(2012). In B. Greer & O. Skovsmose (Eds). Opening the Cage: Critique and
Politics of Mathematics Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers

Video: Aboriginal math education: Collaborative learning by Stavros Stavrou,

TEDxSaskatoon. Source: https://youtu.be/eHyvlrbCiAY

Other Suggested Materials/Readings:

Barton, B. (2017). Mathematics, Education, and Culture: A Contemporary Moral

Imperative. In G. Kaiser (Ed.). Proceedings of the 13th International
Congress on Mathematical Education. Cham: Springer International
Publishing AG.

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Barwell, R., Clarkson, P., Halai, A., Kazima, M., et. al. (2016) (Eds.).
Mathematics
Education and Language Diversity. Heidelberg: Springer Cham.

Boaler, J. (2016). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential

through
Creative Mathematics, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

D’Ambrosion, U. (2001). Ethnomathematics: Link between Traditions and

Modernity.
Rotterdam: Sense Publishers

Greer, B. & Skovsmose, O. (2012) (Eds). Opening the Cage: Critique and Politics
of
Mathematics Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Gutstein, E. & Peterson, B. (2013). Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching Social

Justice by the Numbers 2nd Ed. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.

Hottinger, S. N. (2016). Inventing the Mathematician: Gender, Race, and Our

Cultural
Understanding of Mathematics. Albany: SUNY

Joseph, G. G. (2009). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of

Mathematics
(3rd Ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press

Knijnik, G. (2007). Mathematics education and the Brazilian Landless Movement:

Three
different mathematics in the context of the struggle for social justice.
Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal 21(1), 1-18.

Lipka, J. & Adams, B. (2004). Some Evidence for Ethnomathematics:

Quantitative and
Qualitative Data from Alaska. In F. Favilli (Ed.). Ethnomathematics and
Mathematics Education. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of
Mathematics Education, Copenhagen. Pisa: Tipografia Editrice Pisana.

Powell, A. & Frankenstein, M. (1997). Ethnomathematics: Challenging

Eurocentrism
in Mathematics Education. Albany: SUNY

Rosa, M., Shirley, L., Gavarette, ME., & Alangui, W. (2017) (Eds.).
Ethnomathematics

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and its Diverse Approaches for Mathematics Education. Cham: Springer

International Publishing AG.

Skovsmose, O. & Valero, P. (2001). Breaking Political Neutrality: The Critical

Engagement of Mathematics Education with Democracy. In B. Atweh, H.
Forgasz, & B. Nebres (Eds.). Sociocultural Research on Mathematics
Education. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

References:

Alangui, W. (2017). Ethnomathematics and Culturally Relevant Mathematics

Education
in the Philippines. In M. Rosa, L. Shirley, ME Gavarette & W. Alangui
(Eds.). Ethnomathematics and its Diverse Approaches for Mathematics
Education. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG.

Bishop, A. (1990). Western mathematics: the secret weapon of cultural

imperialism. Race
and Class 32(2), 51-65.

Borba, M. Askar, P., Engelbrecht, J., Gadanidis, G., Llinares, S. and Aguilar, MS
(2017).
Digital Technology in Mathematics Education: Research over the Last
Decade. In G. Kaiser (Ed.). Proceedings of the 13th International Congress
on Mathematical Education. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG.

Caygill, R. & Kirkham, S. (2008). Mathematic: Trends in year 5 mathematics

achievement 1994 to 2006. New Zealand results from three cycles of the
Trends in the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).
Wellington: Ministry of Education New Zealand

D.O. 62, s. 2011. National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework.

Department
of Education, Republic of the Philippines.

Gutstein, E. (2012). Mathematics as a weapon in the struggle. In B. Greer & O.

Skovsmose (Eds). Opening the Cage: Critique and Politics of Mathematics
Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers

Hottinger, S. N. (2016). Inventing the Mathematician: Gender, Race, and Our

Cultural
Understanding of Mathematics. Albany: SUNY

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Joseph, G. G. (2009). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of

Mathematics
(3rd Ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press

Ojose, B. (2011). Mathematics literacy: are we able to put the mathematics we

learn into
everyday use? Journal of Mathematics Education 4(1), 89-100.

Powell, A. & Frankenstein, M. (1997). Ethnomathematics: Challenging

Eurocentrism
in Mathematics Education. Albany: SUNY

Stinson, D. (2014). Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice: An Ethical and

Moral
Imperative? Journal of Urban Mathematics Education 7(2), 1-5.

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