Research in Mathematical Education (한국수학교육학회지시리즈D:수학교육연구)

Korean Society of Mathematical Education (한국수학교육학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

The Intended Curriculum and Cultural Traditions - A Comparative Case Study of Berlin and Hong Kong

  • Received : 2011.08.02
  • Accepted : 2011.09.10
  • Published : 2011.09.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Many studies such as Pepin (1999a; 1999b), Kaiser (2002), and Park & Leung (2006) revealed that there is a strong dependence of mathematics teaching on cultural traditions in different countries. This study was set up as a detailed comparison between the intended curricula in Berlin and Hong Kong to explore how cultural tradition influenced the intended curriculum. In this study, the intended curriculum is what the (local, state or national) curriculum developers stipulate in the official documents. The German educational system is influenced by the curriculum tradition called Didaktik. Didaktik is a tradition about teaching and learning. Since 16th century, Didaktik has been the most important tool for planning, enacting, and thinking about teaching in most of northern and central Europe (Westbury, 1998). On the other hand, the education system in Hong Kong is influenced by both the Anglo-Saxon curriculum tradition and the Confucian heritage culture (CHC). It was found in this study that, although many studies revealed that there is a strong dependence on cultural traditions of mathematics teaching in different countries, other factors such as social factors or the education system also played an important part in shaping the intended mathematics curriculum. So a simplistic view of dependence of the curriculum on cultural traditions is not warranted. The formation of the curriculum is a much more complicated process encompassing various factors including needs of society, advancement of technology, and government policies at different levels.

Keywords

References

  1. Berlin Senatsverwaltung fur Bildung, Jugend und Sport (BSBJS) (2006). Rahmenlehrplan fur die Sekundarstufe I (Jahrgangsstufe 7-10) (in German: The Curriculum for the Secondary Level I (Grade 7-10)). Retrieved from: http://www.hugo-gaudig-oberschule.de/HGO1/Unterricht/Sport.pdf
  2. Curriculum Development Council (CDC) (1999). Syllabuses for Secondary Schools-Mathematics Seconndary 1-5. Hong Kong: Education Bureau. Retrieved from: http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=4905&langno=1
  3. Gravemeijer, K., & Terwel, J. (2000). Hans Freudenthal: a mathematician on didactics and curriculum theory. J. Curric. Stud. 32(6),777-796. ME 2002e.03867 ERIC EJ644057 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270050167170
  4. Howson, A. G., Keitel, C., & Kilpatrick, J. (1981). Curriculum Development in Mathematics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ME 1983b.06820
  5. Howson, G. (1995). Mathematics textbooks: a comparative study of grade 8 texts. Vancouver, B.C.: Pacific Educational Press. ME 1995f.03981
  6. Hudson, B., Buchberger, F., Kansanen, P., & Seel, H. (1999). Didaktik/Fachdidaktik as Science(-s) of the Teaching Profession? TNTEE Publications 2(1), 1-251. ME 2000a.00178
  7. Kaiser, G. (1999). Comparative Studies on Teaching Mathematics in England and Germany. In G. Kaiser, E. Luna, & I. Huntley (Eds.), International comparisons in mathematics education (pp. 140-150). London: Falmer Press Ltd.
  8. Kaiser, G. (2002). Educational philosophies and their influence on mathematics education - An ethnographic study in English and German mathematics classrooms. ZDM, Zentralbl. Didakt. Math. 34(6), 241-257. ME 2003b.01118 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02655723
  9. Lee, W. O. (1996). The cultural context for Chinese learners: Conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In: D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 25-41). Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre / Melbourne, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research. ERIC ED405410
  10. Leung, F. K. S. (1999). The traditional Chinese views of mathematics and education: Implications for mathematics education in the new millennium. In: C. Hoyles, C. Morgan, & G. Woodhouse (Eds.), Mathematics Education in the 21st Century (pp. 240-247). London: Falmer Press Ltd.
  11. Park, K., & Leung, F. K. S. (2006). A Comparison of the Mathematics Textbooks in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States. In: F. K. S. Leung, Klaus-D. Graf & Francis Lopez-Real (Eds.), Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions: A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West. The 13th ICMI Study (pp. 227-238). New York: Springer. ME 2008a.00014
  12. Pepin, B. (1999a). The influence of national cultural traditions on pedagogy: classroom practices in England, France and Germany. In: J. Leach & B. Moon (Eds.), Learners and Pedagogy (pp. 124-139). London: Sage Publications.
  13. Pepin, B. (1999b). Epistemologies, beliefs and conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning: the theory, and what is manifested in mathematics teachers' work in England, France and Germany. In: B. Hudson, F. Buchberger, P. Kansanen, & H. Seel (Eds.), Didaktik/Fachdidaktik as Science(-s) of the Teaching Profession. TNTEE Publications, Vol. 2(1) (pp. 127-146). ME 2000a.00203
  14. Siu, M. K. (2009). Mathematics education in East Asia from antiquity to modern times. In K. Bjarnadottir, F. Furinghetti, & G. Schubring (Eds.), Dig Where You Stand: Proceedings of a Conference on On-going Research in the History of Mathematics Education (pp. 197-208). Reykjavik: School of Education of University of Iceland. ME 2010f.00071
  15. Valsiner, J. (1989). From group comparisons to knowledge: Lessons from crosscultural psychology. In: J. P. Forgas & J. M. Innes (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective (pp. 501-510). Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing.
  16. Valverde, G. A, & Schmidt, W. H. (1997). Refocusing U.S. Math and Science Education. Issues in Science and Technology 14(2), 60-66. ERIC EJ561897
  17. Wang, H. J., & Sun, H. A (1988). Ways of thought in Chinese ancient mathematics (in Chinese). Nanjing, Jiangsu Prov.: Jiangsu Education Publishing House.
  18. Westbury, I. (2000). Teaching as a Reflective Practice: What Might Didaktik Teach Curriculum? In: I. Westbury, S. Hopmann & K. Riquarts (Eds.), Teaching as a reflective practice: the German Didaktik tradition (pp. 15-39). Mahwah, NJ: London: L. Erlbaum Associates. ME 2001c.02107