The Contradictions in the Constructivist Discourse

Introduction Constructivism is the most influential ‘theory’ of learning in education. In mathematics education in particular, many and if not most educators would claim to be constructivist in one form or another. The word ‘theory’, however, is inappropriate, for constructivism is not a structured framework of ideas or concepts that can determine an approach to mathematics education (a notable exception is the work done by David Tall, 1991, and colleagues on the learning of advanced mathematical concepts within a Piagetian framework). The point is that constructivism is more a belief system than it is a theory. It is a ‘world-view’ (weltanschuung) and a Broad Church (Matthews, 2000) that encompasses ethics, politics, ethnography and curriculum design and development.