Mathematics Education as a Humanity Education

인간교육으로서의 수학교육

mathematics holds a key position among the subject-matters of school education. Nevertheless, beyond Its Instrumental one, humanity-educational value of mathematics for the general public has been under estimated. For the past fifty years, in the our country there has not been enough systematic and profound examination and discussion concerning the goals of mathematics education in order to establish the philosophy of mathematics education. Thus, in this thesis we argue how mathematics education could contribute to the humanity education. For this, we examine how western educational theorists have emphasized the value of mathematics as humanity education and how their theories have been reflected in the goals of the modern mathematics education. First of all, we discuss Platonism as a philosophical basis of the traditional mathematics teaching mainly with Euclid's "Elements" since the ancient Greece and the relationship between mathematics education and humanity education in the light of this traditional thought. Next, we examine the thoughts of Pestalozzi, Harbert, Froebel who provided the theoretical basis for the public education since 19th century, and discuss the value of mathematics teaching in their humanistic educational thoughts. Also we examine the humanistic value of mathematics education in Dewey's educational philosophy, which criticized the traditional western ethics and epistemology, and established instrumen talism. Further, we analyze how such a philosophy of mathematics teaching is reflected mathematics education of 20th century, and confirm that the formation of Dewey's rational intelligence is one of the central aims of mathematics education of late 20th century. Finally, we discuss the ideals of humanistic mathematics education ; develop ment of the rational intelligence via 'doing knowledge'and change of mind via 'looking knowledge'. In this paper identify the humanistic values of mathematics education through the historical examination of the philosophies of mathematics education, and we could find significance as a fundamental study for one of the most important problems which Korean mathematics educational society confronts, that is establishing the philosophy of mathematics education.