• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.329-349
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• 2003

Mathematics education is accomplished by systems such as mathematical curriculum and tools such as a textbook which reflects such systems. Human beings make such systems and tools. Therefore, a viewpoint of mathematics of those who make them is an important factor. The view point of mathematics is formed during doing and learning mathematics, but the already formed viewpoint of mathematics affects doing and teaching mathematics. Hence, it will be a factor which affects basically that those who employ themselves on mathematics education have a certain viewpoint of mathematics. This article presents dialectical materialistic viewpoint as the viewpoint of mathematics which affects fundamentally on mathematical teaching-learning practice. The dialectical materialism is carried through the process and result of mathematics development. This shows that mathematical knowledge is objective. Mathematical knowledge has developed according to three basic rules of dialectical materialism i.e. the transformation of quantity into quality, the unification of antagonistic objects, and the negation of negation. This viewpoint of mathematics should offer the viewpoint of mathematics education which is different from the view point of absolutism, relativism or formal logic. In this article I considered mathematics separating standpoint of mathematics into materialistic viewpoint and dialectical viewpoint. 1 did so for the convenience of analysis, but you will be able to look at the unified viewpoint of dialectical materialism. 1 will make mention of teaching-learning method on another occasion.