Commentary on Theories of Mathematics Education

Theories of Mathematics Education: Is Plurality
a Problem?
Stephen Lerman
Prelude In this chapter I examine empirically the diversity of theories in our field,
based on a detailed study carried out recently, and I draw on the sociological theories
of Basil Bernstein to relate the developments to the nature of intellectual communities
and their productions. In particular, I suggest that the multiplicity and divergence
are not surprising nor are they necessarily damaging to the field. I end by discussing
concerns about accountability in relation to research in education.
Introduction
Today, in many countries around the world, constraints on the funding of Universities
together with demands for accountability are leading to restrictions on educational
research. In some countries national policy is placing constraints on the kinds
of research that will be funded (e.g. the effects of No Child Left Behind policy in the
USA), in the name of accountability. On the other hand we can observe that, at the
same time, research in mathematics education is proliferating, not just in quantity, as
is borne out by the expansion of the numbers of mathematics education journals and
conferences but also in the range of theories that are drawn upon in our research.
In this chapter I want to ask: is this surprising, or unusual, and is it necessarily a
hindrance to the effectiveness of educational research in mathematics?
In discussing these questions I would argue that we need a specific language that
enables an analysis of intellectual fields and their growth, a language that will not
be provided by mathematics or by psychology. I will draw on some of the later
work of the sociologist of education, Basil Bernstein, in particular his 1999 paper
on research discourses (reprinted also as Chap. 9 in Bernstein 2000), and the results
of a recent research study (e.g. Tsatsaroni et al. 2003). Following that, I will make
some remarks about the use of theory.
S. Lerman ()
Department of Education, London South Bank University, London, UK
e-mail: lermans@lsbu.ac.uk
B. Sriraman, L. English (eds.), Theories of Mathematics Education,
Advances in Mathematics Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-00742-2_11, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010
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