Modern Mathematics
Description
The international New Math developments between about 1950 through 1980, are regarded by many mathematics educators and education historians as the most historically important development in curricula of the twentieth century. It attracted the attention of local and international politicians, of teachers, and of parents, and influenced the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels-kindergarten to college graduate-in many nations. After garnering much initial support it began to attract criticism. But, as Bill Jacob and the late Jerry Becker show in Chapter 17, some of the effects became entrenched.
This volume, edited by Professor Dirk De Bock, of Belgium, provides an outstanding overview of the New Math/modern mathematics movement. Chapter authors provide exceptionally high-quality analyses of the rise of the movement, and of subsequent developments, within a range of nations.The first few chapters show how the initial leadership came from mathematicians in European nations and in the United States of America.
The background leaders in Europe were Caleb Gattegno and members of a mysterious group of mainly French pure mathematicians, who since the 1930s had published under the name of (a fictitious) "Nicolas Bourbaki." In the United States, there emerged, during the 1950s various attempts to improve U.S. mathematics curricula and teaching, especially in secondary schools and colleges. This side of the story climaxed in 1957 when the Soviet Union succeeded in launching "Sputnik," the first satellite.
Undoubtedly, this is a landmark publication in education. The foreword was written by Professor Bob Moon, one of a few other scholars to have written on the New Math from an international perspective. The final "epilogue" chapter, by Professor Geert Vanpaemel, a historian, draws together the overall thrust of the volume, and makes links with the general history of curriculum development, especially in science education, including recent globalization trends.
Reviews / Votes
"Modern Mathematics: An International Movement? is a book that offers valuable insights into the history of global mathematics education reform. It also serves as a reminder that any educational reform, no matter how brilliant, will not succeed without a thorough understanding of the local context and adequate teacher preparation. This book is not just a historical review but a profound reflection on the challenges we continue to face in improving the quality of mathematics education." (Hesty Marwani Siregar, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 73 (3), 2025)
"The book opens with an introduction by the editor, entitled "Modern Mathematics: An International Movement Diversely Shaped in National Context", in which he elaborates on the suspicious question mark from the title. . an inspiring bouquet of approaches to the same topic, ranging from treating the intertwined debates between politics, mathematics, and the classroom practice to describing an influential character of the country, such as Tamás Varga or Zofia Krygowska." (Helena Durnová, Historia Mathematica, March 7, 2025)
"I highly recommend De Bock's work for anyone interested in reform and in that particular movement which gave rise, one way or another, to so much of the mathematics education we still think about today." (Michael N. Fried, Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Vol. 27 (1), 2025)
"The book is adaptable to personal preference, one can read it front to back, or stroll in it." (Wendy Goemans, BMS-NCM Newsletter, November 15, 2024)
"The book will be of interest to researchers and all those interested in the history of mathematics education as an academic field, mathematics teachers interested in how the curriculum changed in the post-Second World War era and curriculum developers interested in the factors affecting large-scale curriculum reform in an international context." (Bert Zwaneveld, History of Education, Vol. 53 (4), 2024)
"Professor Dirk De Bock, the editor of this volume, Modern Mathematics. An International Movement? . has been one of the most active players contributing to this 'golden age' of research about the Modern Mathematics movement. . The book has a clear and simple structure. . the set of countries included in the book is geographically diverse. We find examples from the five continents and from both hemispheres." (Antonio M. Oller-Marcén, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Vol. 115 (2), 2024)
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