Elsevier

International Journal of Educational Research

Chapter 2 The scholarly basis of the school mathematics reform movement in the united states*

Abstract

A school mathematics reform movement is now underway in the United States. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the scholarly basis of that movement. What is being argued is that information derived from recent research and scholarly reflection on that research underlies the vision of school mathematics being presented. To build this argument, first, a contrast between current mathematics instruction and the reform vision of instruction is made. Second, information that demonstrates the need for a better way to teach mathematics is summarized. Third, the ideological roots of the new vision for school mathematics is presented.

The conclusion of this argument is that the reform vision of school mathematics is a reasoned, but radical, response to the criticism of contemporary schooling practices. However, reform will not happen by simply attempting to alter components of the current system. The entire system needs to be replaced with a coherent alternative based on the complementary aspects of the reform vision.

Section snippets

Thomas A. Romberg is the Sears Roebuck Foundation-Bascom Professor in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of the National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education for the U.S. Department of Education. He has a long history of involvement with mathematics curriculum reform, including work in the 60s with the School Mathematics Study Group, in the 70s with Developing Mathematical Processes, and in the 80s as chair of two commissions—School Mathematics:

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    • Cited by (4)

    Thomas A. Romberg is the Sears Roebuck Foundation-Bascom Professor in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of the National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education for the U.S. Department of Education. He has a long history of involvement with mathematics curriculum reform, including work in the 60s with the School Mathematics Study Group, in the 70s with Developing Mathematical Processes, and in the 80s as chair of two commissions—School Mathematics: Options for the 1990s for the U.S. Department of Education, and Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. For his work on the latter commission, the American Educational Research Association gave him its "Interpretive Scholarship" and "Professional Service" award in 1991.

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