Speaker: Professor Matthew Inglis (University of Loughborough)

Title: Five decades of theory in education research.

When and where: Tuesday 19 November 2-3pm
Highfield Campus, University of Southampton
Building 32 room 2103

What is your talk about? Mathematics educators have been publishing their work in international research journals for five decades. How has the field developed over this period? In this talk I report an analysis of the full text of all articles published in Educational Studies in Mathematics and the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education since their foundation. I focus on the field’s changing theoretical orientations and pay particular attention to the relative prominence of the experimental psychology, constructivist and sociocultural programmes.

What are the key messages of your talk? I quantitatively assess the extent of the ‘social turn’, observe that the field is currently experiencing a period of theoretical diversity, and identify and discuss the ‘experimental cliff’, a period during which experimental investigations migrated away from mathematics education journals.

What are the implications for practice or research from your talk? My analysis identifies a fracturing in the field which, if Lakatos’s account of scientific progress is to be believed, is likely to be damaging.

Please note: these are popular events and places are available on a first come, first served basis. Please arrive promptly to ensure your place.