The Nature of Mathematics Education; The Issue of Learning Theories and Classroom Practice

Abstract

To achieve a successful mathematics education through the implementation of the school mathematics curriculum, the teacher’s beliefs emanating from their experiences (including learning theories) with their environment should be a considerable factor. This is to ensure that all learning situation in mathematics classroom generate understanding among the individuals involve for it to be meaningful. In this paper my goal is to highlight on some issues which are of great importance to mathematics education as a field of study. The issues in focus are; theory and practice, the role of theory in mathematics education research, some widely used learning theories in mathematics education, theories of models and modelling and their impact on mathematics research, teaching and learning, the aims of teaching and learning mathematics, and the status of mathematics education as knowledge field.