Mathematics education within the postmodern - Margaret Walshaw

The papers presented in this volume are all very welcome because they challenge accepted wisdoms about both the nature of mathematics and of education. They bring to bear on this intersection a postmodern sensibility which engages with the grand narratives of mathematics education. It is a groundbreaking volume in which each of the chapters develops for mathematics education the importance of insights from mainly French intellectuals of the past: Foucault, Lacan, Lyotard, Deleuze. The chapters address issues relevant to mathematics education, not from the discipline's familiar viewpoints, but towards theory development for mathematics education in contemporary society. What is particularly important is the way in which their analyses of the discursive practices that make up mathematics education allow us to think differently about researching and teaching mathematics.