for the learning of mathematics

an international journal of mathematics education

Brent Davis - Vol. 38 Num. 3 (2018)
 What sort of science is didactics?

44-49
 ABSTRACT:

Based on input from several scholars, Gascón and Nicolás (2017) attempted “to start a dialogue aimed at laying the foundations for a better understanding and a scientific cooperation between different theories in Didactics.” Consistent with that goal, I examine uninterrogated assumptions that shaped their analysis. I assert that such integral elements as “science” and “teaching” were unproblematized. Taking on these issues, I argue that framing the field of mathematics education research in terms of a contest between ideas and ideologies is outdated and unproductive. Rather, for the field to situate itself as scientific, it must attend to the distinct characters of different scientific domains.