The idea of the ICMI Study 13 is outlined as follows: Education in any social environment is influenced in many ways by the traditions of these environments. This study brings together leading experts to research and report on mathematics education in a global context. Mathematics education faces a split phenomenon of difference and correspondence. A study attempting a comparison between mathematics education in different traditions will be helpful to understanding this phenomenon.

Mathematics is in the unenviable position of being simultaneously one of the most important school subjects for today's children to study and one of the least well understood. Its reputation is awe-inspiring. Everybody knows how important it is and everybody knows that they have to study it. But few people feel comfortable with it; so much so that it is socially quite acceptable in many countries to confess ignorance about it, to brag about one's incompe tence at doing it, and even to claim that one is mathophobic! So are teachers around the world being apparently legal sadists by inflicting mental pain on their charges? Or is it that their pupils are all masochists, enjoying the thrill of self-inflicted mental torture? More seriously, do we really know what the reasons are for the mathematical activity which goes on in schools? Do we really have confidence in our criteria for judging what's important and what isn't? Do we really know what we should be doing? These basic questions become even more important when considered in the context of two growing problem areas. The first is a concern felt in many countries about the direction which mathematics education should take in the face of the increasing presence of computers and calculator-related technol ogy in society.

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL MATHEMATICS Challenges readers to think creatively about mathematics and ponder its role in their own daily lives Cultural mathematics, or ethnomathematics as it is also known, studies the relationship between mathematics and culture—with the ultimate goal of contributing to an appreciation of the connection between the two. Introduction to Cultural Mathematics: With Case Studies in the Otomies and Incas integrates both theoretical and applied aspects of the topic, promotes discussions on the development of mathematical concepts, and provides a comprehensive reference for teaching and learning about multicultural mathematical practices. This illuminating book provides a nontraditional, evidence-based approach to mathematics that promotes diversity and respect for cultural heritages. Part One covers such major concepts as cultural aspects of mathematics, numeration and number symbols, kinship relations, art and decoration, games, divination, and calendars. Part Two takes those concepts and applies them to fascinating case studies of both the Otomies of Central Mexico and the Incas of South America. Throughout the book, numerous illustrations, examples, and motivational questions promote an interactive understanding of the topic. Each chapter begins with questions that encourage a cooperative, inquiry-based approach to learning and concludes with a series of exercises that allow readers to test their understanding of the presented material. Introduction to Cultural Mathematics is an ideal book for courses on cultural mathematics, the history of mathematics, and cultural studies. The book is also a valuable resource and reference for anyone interested in the connections between mathematics, culture, anthropology, and history.

This volume discusses semiotics in mathematics education as an activity with a formal sign system, in which each sign represents something else. Theories presented by Saussure, Peirce, Vygotsky and other writers on semiotics are summarized in their relevance to the teaching and learning of mathematics. The significance of signs for mathematics education lies in their ubiquitous use in every branch of mathematics. Such use involves seeing the general in the particular, a process that is not always clear to learners. Therefore, in several traditional frameworks, semiotics has the potential to serve as a powerful conceptual lens in investigating diverse topics in mathematics education research. Topics that are implicated include (but are not limited to): the birth of signs; embodiment, gestures and artifacts; segmentation and communicative fields; cultural mediation; social semiotics; linguistic theories; chains of signification; semiotic bundles; relationships among various sign systems; intersubjectivity; diagrammatic and inferential reasoning; and semiotics as the focus of innovative learning and teaching materials.

The culture of the mathematics classroom is becoming an increasingly salient topic of discussion in mathematics education. Studying and changing what happens in the classroom allows researchers and educators to recognize the social character of mathematical pedagogy and the relationship between the classroom and culture at large. This volume is divided into three sections, reporting findings gained in both research and practice. The first part presents several attempts to change classroom culture by focusing on the education of mathematics teachers and on teacher-researcher collaboration. The second section shifts to the interactive processes of the mathematics classroom and to the communal nature of learning. The third section discusses the means of constructing, filtering, and establishing mathematical knowledge that are characteristic of classroom culture. This internationally relevant volume will be of particular interest to educators and educational researchers.

Presents the emerging field of ethnomathematics from a critical perspective, challenging particular ways in which Eurocentrism permeates mathematics education and mathematics in general.