The Steiner "Theories of Mathematics Education"-program of 1987: Where are we today?

Günter Törner
University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany

Bharath Sriraman
The University of Montana, USA


Abstract

In this contribution we discuss the six theses presented by Hans-Georg Steiner (1987), which were instrumental in the community becoming interested in theories and philosophies of mathematics education. We discuss overlooked aspects of this seminal paper particularly in light of recent developments in the field of mathematics education. Nearly twenty years later, we reflect on the development of Steiner’s program for theory development and examine if any progress has been made at all on the open questions that Steiner (1987) posed to the community.

Keywords: Epistemology; Hans-Georg Steiner; Philosophy of mathematics education; Relativism; Theory development

AMS Subject Classification: 97

Pre-print of: Törner, G. and Sriraman, B. (2007).The Steiner TME-program of 1987: Where are we today? Invited paper for special issue of the Zentralblatt für Didaktik der Mathematik (In memoriam Hans-Georg Steiner).

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