Why is it hard to engage students? Investigating epistemological theories underlying teaching and learning mathematics
World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2042-5945
Article publication date: 1 April 2011
Abstract
There is a considerable emphasis today on bridging the gap between theory and practice. On the other hand there is a divergence of thinking through a traditional perspective that mathematics exists independently of its applications and should be taught in its pure form. The purpose of this paper is to examine the key epistemological theories underlying teaching and learning mathematics from above (i.e. traditional approaches) and mathematics from below (contemporary approaches) and how they relate to adult numeracy education. This begs the question: Why is it hard to engage students and why can’t we connect with both the real‐world and mathematical abstractions?
Keywords
Citation
El‐Kafafi, S. (2011), "Why is it hard to engage students? Investigating epistemological theories underlying teaching and learning mathematics", World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 41-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/20425945201100003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited