Meaning in Mathematics Education: a Political Issue

Abstract

By a politics of meaning I refer to the social, economic, cultural and religious conditions for experiencing meaning. I refer as well to the layers of visions, assumptions, presumptions and preconceptions that might construct something as being meaningful. By addressing different politics of meaning in mathematics education I want to show how meaning becomes formatted. In order to do this, I provide a foreground interpretation of meaning. The basic idea is to relate meanings and foregrounds, acknowledging that foregrounds are formed by a range of factors, as well as by the person’s experiences of such factors. Politics of meaning can be analysed with reference to sexism, racism, instrumentalism, and political engagement.