THE TENSIONS AND CONTRADICTIONS OF THE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TRADITION

The ubiquitousness and robustness of traditional practices in the teac hing of school mathematics raise two fundamental and interrelated ques tions: Will the fate of the current reform effort in mathematics educa tion be any different from that of previous reform efforts? Why have t hese traditional practices been so constant and durable? Certainly the se are questions that cannot be answered in a single study. However, i n an effort to develop a research basis that could aid in thinking abo ut these questions, I conducted an ethnographic case study of a beginn ing high school mathematics teacher's acculturation into the school ma thematics tradition (i.e., the beliefs and practices that characterize the traditional approach to school mathematics). The analysis present ed here focuses on the tensions and contradictions that underlie the b eliefs and practices of the school mathematics tradition and on the wa ys that teachers cope with these tensions and contradictions. It also indicates how the explanations and strategies that teachers employ to cope with these tensions and contradictions on actually help to sustai n the tradition.