Inclusion as Ethics, Equity and/or Human Rights? Spotlighting School Mathematics Practices in Scotland and Globally

Mathematics education has been notoriously slow at interpreting inclusion in ways that are not divisive. Dominant views of educational inclusion in school mathematics classrooms have been shaped by social constructions of ability. These particularly indelible constructions derive from the perceived hierarchical nature of mathematics and the naturalised assumption that mathematisation is purely an intellectual exercise. Constructions of ability, therefore, emanate from the epistemic structures of mathematics education as predominantly practiced worldwide, and the prevalence of proceduralism and exclusion in those practices. Assumptions about ‘ability’ have become a truth to mathematical aptitude held by mathematics teachers in schools. This includes schools across Scotland. In Scotland, the government owes the ‘included pupil’ a legal obligation to provide additional support for learning under section 1(1) of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. However, classroom practices deployed around socially-constructed notions of ability have seen schools moving away from an emphasis on ‘additional’ to an expansive interpretation of ‘different from’ in the language of section 1(3)(a) of the Act 2004. This shift, therefore, reinstalls exclusionary effects to school mathematics practices by creating the conditions for some pupils, constructed in terms of disabilities or low ability, to be afforded a more inferior education than others. While philosophical conversations around whether these practices are ethical, egalitarian or democratic might ensue, there is also the human rights angle, which asks whether such practices are even lawful.

La convicción, la comprensión y las prácticas de racionalidad en la primaria. Estudio del profesor

En este artículo se aportan evidencias empíricas de que la convicción que el profesor experimenta en torno a los contenidos matemáticos que surgen en clase —en interacción con su nivel de comprensión— incide en las prácticas matemáticas de sustentación que él ahí promueve. Los datos empíricos, provenientes de un estudio exploratorio de caso realizado en un escenario natural de clase, se analizan con un instrumento para identificar convicciones matemáticas. Este instrumento se elaboró en el marco de la investigación cuyos resultados parciales aquí se exponen.Conviction, Comprehension and Rationality Practices in Primary School. A Teacher StudyEmpirical evidence is provided in the paper to support the idea that the conviction experienced by the teacher with respect to the mathematics contents that arise in class —in interaction with his level of comprehension— has an impact on the mathematics practices of sustentation that the teacher promotes. The empirical data, that come from an exploratory case study, undertaken in a natural classroom scenario are analyzed using an instrument to identify mathematics convictions. This instrument was designed within the framework of the research presented here.Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10481/30510