Abstract
This chapter examines the philosophical underpinnings of Australasian mathematics education research between 2012 and 2015. It takes a hermeneutic approach, seeking to uncover often hidden assumptions about ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, ethics and logic. The first part of the chapter explains the approach taken and outlines the set of papers considered. The chapter then examines the set of keywords used in Australasian mathematics education research papers published in major international journals, seeking to identify broad themes or omissions. It then takes a more detailed look at a purposive selection of 26 papers, chosen to reflect the themes in this Review. Finally it examines papers that explicitly discuss epistemology to identify researchers’ underlying assumptions about the nature of knowledge and its acquisition. The chapter points to some important tensions within the research and suggests that such tensions can be used as a creative force to enable mathematics education researchers to better identify and question the philosophical assumptions that underpin their research.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012-2015 |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 29-48 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789811014192 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789811014178 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
Keywords
- Aesthetics
- Education research
- Epistemology
- Ethics
- Hermeneutics
- Logic
- Mathematics
- Ontology
- Philosophy