Opening the Cage : a Critique and Politics of Mathematics Education

The picture on the front of this book is an illustration for Totakahini: The tale of the parrot, by Rabindranath Tagore, in which he satirized education as a magnificent golden cage. Opening the cage addresses mathematics education as a complex socio-political phenomenon, exploring the vast terrain that spans critique and politics. Opening the cage includes contributions from educators writing critically about mathematics education in diverse contexts. They demonstrate that mathematics education is politics, they investigate borderland positions, they address the nexus of mathematics, education, and power, and they explore educational possibilities. Mathematics education is not a free enterprise. It is carried on behind bars created by economic, political, and social demands. This cage might not be as magnificent as that in Tagore’s fable. But it is strong. Opening the cage is a critical and political challenge, and we may be surprised to see what emerges. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-19 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 Mathematics As A Weapon in The Struggle....Pages 23-48 A Critical Approach to Equity....Pages 49-91 The Role of Mathematics in The Destruction of Communities, and What We Can Do To Reverse This Process, Including Using Mathematics....Pages 93-105 The Usa Mathematics Advisory Panel....Pages 107-124 Front Matter....Pages 125-125 Mathematics Teaching and Learning of Immigrant Students....Pages 127-142 Learning of Mathematics Among Pakistani Immigrant Children in Barcelona....Pages 143-166 Mathematics Education Across Two Language Contexts....Pages 167-186 Genealogy of Mathematics Education in Two Brazilian Rural Forms of Life....Pages 187-202 On Becoming and Being A Critical Black Scholar in Mathematics Education....Pages 203-222 Totakahini....Pages 223-225 Front Matter....Pages 227-227 The Hegemony of Mathematics....Pages 229-248 Bringing Critical Mathematics to Work....Pages 249-264 Shaping and Being Shaped By Mathematics....Pages 265-283 Front Matter....Pages 285-285 Potentials, Pitfalls, and Discriminations....Pages 287-307 A Philosophical Perspective on Contextualisations in Mathematics Education....Pages 309-324 Mathematics Education and Democratic Participation Between The Critical and The Ethical....Pages 325-341 Towards A Critical Mathematics Education Research Programme?....Pages 343-368 Opening The Cage? Critical Agency in The Face of Uncertainty....Pages 369-385 Back Matter....Pages 387-391