The papers presented in this volume are all very welcome because they challenge accepted wisdoms about both the nature of mathematics and of education. They bring to bear on this intersection a postmodern sensibility which engages with the grand narratives of mathematics education. It is a groundbreaking volume in which each of the chapters develops for mathematics education the importance of insights from mainly French intellectuals of the past: Foucault, Lacan, Lyotard, Deleuze. The chapters address issues relevant to mathematics education, not from the discipline's familiar viewpoints, but towards theory development for mathematics education in contemporary society. What is particularly important is the way in which their analyses of the discursive practices that make up mathematics education allow us to think differently about researching and teaching mathematics.

This contributed volume explores equity and social justice within the field of mathematics education. In part one, Helga Jungwirth's introductory chapter provides a strong theoretical overview that is based in actual classroom behaviors and a typology that classifies the various interpretations found within this volume. Also in part one, Laurie Hart discusses developments in equity research in the United States. Part two focuses on results of studies about social justice and their impact on learning in mathematics classrooms in various parts of the world. For example, in a chapter on Peru, social justice does not just encompass gender, but also inequalities in opportunities to learn, such as problems of resources, living and social conditions, communal demands and language needs. And, part three focuses on computers as a resource to mathematics teaching.

The contributors raise several important social justice issues which have previously remained unresearched. Although there are a number of chapters specifically dealing with gender, many of the authors use one of the following strategies: their gender-specific questions are set in a wider socio-cultural context, they challenge what have threatened to become false orthodoxies, or they raise other important issues. These other issues include the meaning of democratic citizenship for mathematics classrooms, the links between parents and children learning mathematics, and the preconceptions of some teachers of underprivileged students in Australia. Other chapters explore different forms of classroom communication, participation, and assessment. The pieces on computers state that there is still not enough research to conclude whether computers in the mathematics classrooms are supportive of, or detrimental to, the learning of all students. The one thing on which every author in this volume does agree is that social justice in mathematics education has still not been attained, but that we must strive toward it to improve educational practices and society in general.

Learning Mathematics brings together a collection of interrelated and forward-looking chapters by internationally recognized experts that explores changes in the theories and practices of learning (and teaching) mathematics. The authors reject a traditional, transmission view of the teaching of mathematics which has proved so ineffective for learning. In its place they offer information gathered from research and from practice about effects on the learners seeking to create and negotiate meaning. Learners are presented as actively attempting to make sense of the mathematics they encounter, and learners, teachers and researchers are offered examples of ho such sense-making activities, incorporated into mathematics classrooms, impact on coming to know. The book celebrates both diversity, in the range of different perspectives, contributions and topics, and unity, in the linking chapters and themes, It will be fascinating reading for those mathematics educators who are eager to engage with a socio-cultural perspective in order to better understand the complexity of learning mathematics.

How and why is mathematics taught? These can be problematic questions. This book seeks to improve on our modern answers, finding better and more truthful explanations that are supported by evidence. The contributors to the book have various perspectives, but their chapters are cross-referenced and commented on, to create a stimulating discourse. Agreement is found on particular matters, such as the need for non-hierarchical approaches, and the contributions are all written to be relevant to policy-makers and practitioners, as well as researchers.

The papers presented in this volume are all very welcome because they challenge accepted wisdoms about both the nature of mathematics and of education. They bring to bear on this intersection a postmodern sensibility which engages with the grand narratives of mathematics education. It is a groundbreaking volume in which each of the chapters develops for mathematics education the importance of insights from mainly French intellectuals of the past: Foucault, Lacan, Lyotard, Deleuze. The chapters address issues relevant to mathematics education, not from the discipline's familiar viewpoints, but towards theory development for mathematics education in contemporary society. What is particularly important is the way in which their analyses of the discursive practices that make up mathematics education allow us to think differently about researching and teaching mathematics.