Value-based mathematics education for socialization

Abstract

In this paper we describe values in mathematics education in the Netherlands, in a context where both government and teachers are merely focused on test results. At the same time, newly proposed core goals emphasise mathematics education’s socializing function. These new core goals also focus on mathematical attitudes and relating mathematics and the world outside school. This paper describes an exploration to come to a model that can be used to both clarify the role of values in mathematics education and can be used to design education that aligns with this value-oriented character. We present the development of this model as it evolved in discussions with experts such as teacher educators, mathematics specialists, and primary school teachers. It developed from a linear model, via an adapted version making it too complex, to a model that is more focused on the relation between the main elements. The final model represents relations between ‘mathematics’, ‘values’, and ‘the world’ and names the connections between these aspects ‘mathematical literacy’, ‘citizenship’, and ‘value-based mathematics’. By developing this model, we experienced that its use shifted from a descriptive model, via a model that helps communicating about value based mathematics to a mental model. The final model can be used for future design research, where the first step will be establishing the present status of values in mathematics education.