Lecture on Mathematics teaching and learning

"Plato Missed the Point! The Social and Political Flesh and Blood of Mathematics Education" is the title of a public lecture that Dr Paola Valero from Aalborg University, Denmark, will be giving on Tuesday between 4 and 6 p.m. in the Engineering Lecture Theatre, of the University.

It is being held under the auspices of the Faculty of Education's Department of Maths, Science and Technical Education, which cordially invites the general public as well as University staff and students to attend.

Since the time of the Greeks, Mathematics has been considered to belong to the world of ideas, with little or no contact with the mundane world. The Platonic myth is still alive in the way Mathematics and Mathematics education is perceived and practised by many students, teachers, parents and the public in general.

Research on Mathematics education has examined, from a variety of perspectives and with help of a variety of scientific disciplines, the nature of both mathematics and its learning and teaching. A socio-political perspective offers a reading of them highlighting their emergence from social practices and their entrenchment in power relations.

This lecture intends to explore some of the key ideas of this research approach to highlight the social and political flesh and blood of Mathematics education.