Abstract

This question (what is the philosophy of mathematics education?) provokes a number of reactions, even before one tries to answer it. Is it a philosophy of mathematics education, or is it the philosophy of mathematics education? Use of the preposition ‘a ’ suggests that what is being offered is one of several such perspectives, practices or areas of study. Use of the definite article ‘the ’ suggests to some the arrogation of definitiveness to the account given. 1 In other words, it is the dominant or otherwise unique account of philosophy of mathematics education. However, an alternative reading is that ‘the ’ refers to a definite area of enquiry, a specific domain, within which one account is offered. So the philosophy of mathematics education need not be a dominant interpretation so much as an area of study, an area of investigation, and hence something with this title can be an exploratory assay into this area. This is what I intend here. Moving beyond the first word, there is the more substantive question of the reference of the term ‘philosophy of mathematics education’. There is a narrow sense that can be applied in interpreting the words ‘philosophy ’ and ‘mathematics education’. The philosophy of some area or activity can be understood as its aims or rationale. Mathematics education understood

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