In the eyes of the editors, this book will be considered a success if it can convince its readers of the following: that it is warranted to dream of a realistic and full-fledged theory of mathematical practices, in the plural. If such a theory is possible, it would mean that a number of presently existing fierce oppositions between philosophers, sociologists, educators, and other parties involved, are in fact illusory.

This volume focuses on the importance of historical enquiry for the appreciation of philosophical problems concerning mathematics. It contains a well-balanced mixture of contributions by internationally established experts, such as Jeremy Gray and Jens Hoyrup; upcoming scholars, such as Erich Reck and Dirk Schlimm; and young, promising researchers at the beginning of their careers. The book is situated within a relatively new and broadly naturalistic tradition in the philosophy of mathematics. In this alternative philosophical current, which has been dramatically growing in importance in the last few decades, unlike in the traditional schools, proper attention is paid to scientific practices as informing for philosophical accounts.

Contemporary philosophy of mathematics offers us an embarrassment of riches. Among the major areas of work one could list developments of the classical foundational programs, analytic approaches to epistemology and ontology of mathematics, and developments at the intersection of history and philosophy of mathematics. But anyone familiar with contemporary philosophy of mathematics will be aware of the need for new approaches that pay closer attention to mathematical practice. This book is the first attempt to give a coherent and unified presentation of this new wave of work in philosophy of mathematics. The new approach is innovative at least in two ways. First, it holds that there are important novel characteristics of contemporary mathematics that are just as worthy of philosophical attention as the distinction between constructive and non-constructive mathematics at the time of the foundational debates. Secondly, it holds that many topics which escape purely formal logical treatment - such as visualization, explanation, and understanding - can nonetheless be subjected to philosophical analysis. The Philosophy of Mathematical Practice comprises an introduction by the editor and eight chapters written by some of the leading scholars in the field. Each chapter consists of short introduction to the general topic of the chapter followed by a longer research article in the area. The eight topics selected represent a broad spectrum of contemporary philosophical reflection on different aspects of mathematical practice: diagrammatic reasoning and representation systems; visualization; mathematical explanation; purity of methods; mathematical concepts; the philosophical relevance of category theory; philosophical aspects of computer science in mathematics; the philosophical impact of recent developments in mathematical physics.

This book discusses mathematics learners in transition and their practices in different contexts; the institutional and socio-cultural framing of the transition processes involved; and the communication and negotiation of mathematical meanings during transition. Providing both empirical studies and significant theoretical reflections, it will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students in mathematics education, cultural psychology, multicultural education, immigrant and indigenous education.

Reform-based mathematics has become a popular topic in the education field as this teaching emphasizes classroom discourse and instructional goals related to student engagement and an understanding of mathematical reasoning, concepts, and procedures using instructional practices that build on students’ informal knowledge of mathematics. It also connects mathematics with other disciplines and the real world and provides opportunities for students to contribute and invent their own methods during problem-solving. Further study on the best practices, benefits, and challenges of implementing this teaching into education is required. Global Perspectives and Practices for Reform-Based Mathematics Teaching explores international perspectives on diverse reform-based practices in teaching and learning mathematics, describes challenges and issues for teachers and teacher educators, promotes reflection and academic discussion at various levels and in various educational systems, and raises questions for the field of mathematics education. Covering a range of topics such as teacher preparation programs and integrated learning spaces, this reference work is ideal for academicians, practitioners, researchers, instructors, educators, and students.

This book gathers the proceedings of the conference "Cultures of Mathematics and Logic," held in Guangzhou, China. The event was the third in a series of interdisciplinary, international conferences emphasizing the cultural components of philosophy of mathematics and logic. It brought together researchers from many disciplines whose work sheds new light on the diversity of mathematical and logical cultures and practices. In this context, the cultural diversity can be diachronical (different cultures in different historical periods), geographical (different cultures in different regions), or sociological in nature.

This book offers an up-to-date overview of the research on philosophy of mathematics education, one of the most important and relevant areas of theory. The contributions analyse, question, challenge, and critique the claims of mathematics education practice, policy, theory and research, offering ways forward for new and better solutions. The book poses basic questions, including: What are our aims of teaching and learning mathematics? What is mathematics anyway? How is mathematics related to society in the 21st century? How do students learn mathematics? What have we learnt about mathematics teaching? Applied philosophy can help to answer these and other fundamental questions, and only through an in-depth analysis can the practice of the teaching and learning of mathematics be improved. The book addresses important themes, such as critical mathematics education, the traditional role of mathematics in schools during the current unprecedented political, social, and environmental crises, and the way in which the teaching and learning of mathematics can better serve social justice and make the world a better place for the future.

Efforts to improve mathematics education have led educators and researchers to not only study the nature of proficiency, beliefs, and practices in mathematics learn¬ing and teaching, but also identify and assess possible influences on students’ and teachers’ proficiencies, beliefs, and practices in learning and teaching mathematics. The complexity of these topics has fascinated researchers from various back¬grounds, including psychologists, cognitive or learning scientists, mathematicians, and mathematics educators. Among those researchers, two scholars with a similar background – Alan Schoenfeld in the United States and Günter Törner in Germany, are internationally recognized for their contributions to these topics. To celebrate their 65th birthdays in 2012, this book brought together many scholars to reflect on how their own work has built upon and continued Alan and Günter’s work in mathematics education. The book contains 17 chapters by 33 scholars from six different education systems. This collection describes recent research and provides new insights into these topics of interest to mathematics educators, researchers, and graduate students who wish to learn about the trajectory and direction of research on these issues.

The ultimate aim of this book is to identify the conceptual tools and the instructional modalities which enable students and teachers to cross the boundary between school mathematics and real world problem solving. The book identifies, examines, and integrates seven conceptual tools, of which five are constructs (activity theory, narrative, modeling, critical mathematics education, ethnomathematics) and two are contexts (STEM and the workplace). The author develops two closely linked multiple-perspective frameworks: one for learning real world problem solving in school mathematics, which sets the foundations of learning real world problem solving in school mathematics; and one for teaching real world problem solving in school mathematics, which explores the modalities of teaching real world problem solving in school mathematics. “The book is composed as, on the one hand, a high-level theoretical scholarly work on real world problem solving in school mathematics, and, on the other hand, a set of twelve narratives which, put together, constitute a thought-provoking and moving personal and professional autobiography.” - Mogens Niss “These narratives combine aspects of Murad’s personal trajectory as an individual with those points in his professional career at which he became aware of perspectives on and approaches to mathematics education that were both significant in and of themselves, and instrumental for the specific scholarly endeavor presented in the book.” - Mogens Niss