Roles of Mathematics in Education

Since the late 19th century, mathematics as a research discipline functioned as the best model for correct reasoning in the sciences. Since then, mathematization of not only natural, but also social sciences, especially sociology and psychology, served as a way of making these disciplines more scientific, thus contributing to the credibility of the conclusions of the researchers. During the 20th century, mathematics became an integral and undisputed part of (European) education, even if in the first half of 20th century, it was usually called calculations and measurements. Including mathematics in general education became so natural that nowadays, mathematics teachers do not ask themselves the question why teach mathematics at all. It is generally accepted that mathematics lessons train the logical thinking of the pupils and success in mathematics at primary and lower secondary school is often taken as a sign of ability to succeed in academic career. Mathematics has thus partially taken over the role of Latin and Greek classes.
After the so-called Velvet Revolution of 1989, one of the first major changes in mathematics education in Czechoslovakia was abolishing the compulsory exam in mathematics that those who wanted to enter the university had to take. It was a part of "Matura" or "A-levels", and this change resulted in turning the view on mathematics classes at secondary schools from that of a "necessary evil" to an "unnecessary evil". The efforts to re-introduce the compulsory exam in mathematics, led by the community of mathematicians and mathematics teachers have repeatedly failed, thus implicitly questioning the status of mathematics as a compulsory subject at upper secondary schools.
Looking into the history of mathematics in education may help our understanding why mathematics is included in the curricula. Why and when did educators suggest or agree with including mathematics among compulsory subjects? Why and when did professional mathematicians enter the decision-making process as to what parts of mathematics should be taught in upper secondary, lower secondary, and eventually even primary school?

Invited speakers:
Danny Beckers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Snezana Lawrence, Middlesex University London

Preliminary programme
Thursday 9 June 2022
9:30 – 10:30 The “Law of Large Integers” in Historical Mathematical Textbooks
Franka Miriam Brueckler and Vladimir Stilinović
10:30 – 11:00 coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 A search for global values in mathematics education:
International Mathematics Olympiad in the Cold War era
Invited talk by Snezana Lawrence
Czech Society for History of Science and Technology (SDVT) and
Czech Mathematical Union (JČMF)
Roles of mathematics in education
Preliminary programme
Thursday 9 June 2022
9:30 – 10:30 The “Law of Large Integers” in Historical Mathematical Textbooks
Franka Miriam Brueckler and Vladimir Stilinović
10:30 – 11:00 coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 A search for global values in mathematics education:
International Mathematics Olympiad in the Cold War era
Invited talk by Snezana Lawrence
12:30 – 14:00 lunch break
14:00 – 15:00 Math on the move: Russian after-school math classes in the US
Irina Antoshchuk, Janna Ataiants and Irina Olimpieva
15:00 – 15:30 coffee break
15:30 – 16:30 Youth is Our Future: Mathematical Olympiad as a Post-war Generational Expectation
for the Circulation of Knowledge
Tomáš Pavlíček
16:30 – 17:00 coffee break
17:00 – 18:00 Is Mathematics an Issue of General Education?
Emil Simeonov

Friday 10 June 2022
9:30 – 10:00 Václav Hlavatý and elitism in education:
Educational reforms in Czechoslovakia 1945–48
Jan Kotůlek
10:00 – 10:30 Roles of Set Theory in Czech Mathematics
Petra Bušková
10:30 – 11:00 coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 Roles of Programming in Mathematics education
Invited talk by Danny Beckers
12:30 – 14:00 lunch break
14:00 – 15:00 Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Understanding of Conditional Probability
in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Franka Miriam Brueckler and Željka Milin Šipuš
15:00 – 15:30 coffee break
15:30 – 16:30 Roles of History in Mathematics Classes in early post-war Czechoslovakia
Helena Durnová