Mathematics Curriculum In The Multicultural Point Of View

It is supposed that there exists neither culture more prominent than others nor transcendent standard that can be pressed on other cultures as multicultural point of view is approached. The core of this viewpoint is to acknowledge the multiformity of culture as well as the equality and mutual influence between different cultures. It also has a significant effect on education with the prosperity of multi-culture. By surveying mathematics curriculum in our country, it is not difficult to discover that traditional mathematics of ancient China has completely been abandoned in nearly a hundred years' process and contents of modern mathematics used in western countries been adopted in Chinese mathematics education consequently. This thesis reveals the very strong Eurocentrism reflected in mathematics textbooks taking content settings of mathematics culture as the example.Based on research on relative materials, the thesis firstly points out that the conflict of culture is an important reason resulting in curriculum reform that depends on the reassessment, criticism and integration of culture heavily. As a result, neglect of influence of culture as well as improper cultural contexts are the main aspects that lead to the failure of curriculum reform. Pragmatism or scientism held in former mathematics curriculum reform,which agrees to learn mathematics just for application only, regards mathematics as nothing more than a kind of tool without considering the cultural background from which mathematics been brought and to which mathematics been related. To ignore students' development of humanistic value will not only reduce the position of mathematics, but also go against the development of students' whole qualities. The trend of scientism in mathematics curriculum reform should be spurned gradually and the seeking of humanistic value should also be focused on. It is of great significance to pay attention to cultural bases of mathematics curriculum reform and both mathematics itself and mathematics curriculum should be recognised in the multicultural viewpoint additionally.It then expounds two representations of Eurocentrism while recgonising mathematics: one is to give evaluation of Greek mathematics higher than that in other cultures; the other one is to accept the argument to consider mathematics as the creation of Greece. What's more it indicates that a new cognitive style ought to be put on both the algorithmic and deductive characters of mathematics and an appropriate evaluation should be given to mathematics in non-European cultures by exploding any developed form of mathematics in any culture, especially the bias taking Greek civilization as the standard. On the other hand, it points out that it is mathematics educational value that determines mathematics curriculum reform when discussed at a deeper layer .On the base of retrospection of the historical alteration of mathematics educational values of humanism and scientism, this thesis argues that the ultimate purposes of mathematics education should be put on the cultivating of students, which includes not only inspiring students to be interested in mathematics and then learn mathematics well with the springboard of students' experiences and feelings themselves, but also helping them use mathematics thought and methods to explore both natural and spiritual world. By this way, scientific value as well as humanistic one may be fulfilled in mathematics education.This thesis brings forward that mathematics curriculum should be reacquainted in the broad multicultural vision after analysing the transform from pursing value of simple scientism to both humanism and scientism in mathematics curriculum, criticizing the Eurocentrism reflected in the cognition of mathematics and getting down to the integration of mathematics educational values. Several facets should be focused on when mathematics curriculum is concerned in multicultural point of view. Firstly both mathematics curriculum itself and reformation have to be concerned in cultural background and be surveyed with points of multi-culture. Then the Eurocentrism reflected in the cognition of mathematics must be cast off and extremely unilateral idea of scientism and that of humanism have to be avoided while knowing mathematics educational values. All mathematical achievements got as well as mathematical thought and methods existing in all cultures should be paid great attentions to and both humanistic and scientific values of mathematics education ought to be fulfilled in mathematics curriculum with multicultural orientation, Ethomathematics is the very important content while actualizing this kind of mathematics curriculum and it also gives concernful prompts to mathematics new curriculum reform taking two methods of "rectangle bases" construction commonly used among the Mozambican peasantry in Africa as the examples.