Understanding Narratives:
A Pathway Towards Resolving Issues andChallenges in International Cooperation inMathematics Education
Ui Hock CheahPenang Maths Platform

Masami Isoda
University of Tsukuba

Purpose of this paper• To study the issues and challenges in international cooperation inmathematics education by examining the history and the ecosystem
of international cooperation projects.

Two Key Events in History which have influenced ICDME• The Formation of Internationale L'Enseignement Mathématiquein 1908.
• Development of International Cooperation Post World War II

Background: Development of International Cooperation
YearAgenda1908Formation of Internationale
L'Enseignement Mathématique(Reorganized as ICMI in 1952

Internationalizing Mathematics

Post1945

Development and reconstruction
after the War.

Development to raise living standards.
Uneven development among countries
Beginning of efforts to narrow the North-Southdivide.
Formation of International Organisations e.g.
U.N, UNESCO, UNDP

1990

World Conference on Education for Education for All Declaration
All in Jomtein

2000

World Education Forum in Dakar
Millennium Summit of the United
Nations

Dakar Framework for Action
Millennium Development Goals

2015

United Nations General Assembly

Sustainable Development Goals

Two Emerging Themes in International Cooperation

Communication &Sharing of Ideas

ICMI-related activities
New Maths movement
International assessments
Other Cross-Border collaborations

InternationalCooperation inEmerging
Economies

U.N. and related agencies
Jomtien – Education All
Dakar Framework for Action
UN Millemium Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals

ICDME

Role of Mathematics in International Cooperation• Mathematics seen as essential for the economic development of futuresocieties• Utility of mathematics in science and technology, statistics and big data
analysis• Computational thinking and big data analysis has bcome an importantfocus in recent years

Complexity of the International Cooperation Ecosystem
Proposal and planning ofInternational Cooperation
projects

Project design

Internationalorganisations
Internationalorganisations
Governments/ Ministries

Governments/ Ministries

International
Internationalorganisationsorganisations
Governments/
Ministries
Governments/
Ministries
Localuniversities
Local&&foreignforeign
universities
Local NGOs and private organisations

Local NGOs and private organisations

Scholarly
knowledge

Knowledge ofeducational
systems

Implementation

Impact study/
Evaluation

Project phases

Internationalorganisations
Internationalorganisations
Governments/
Ministries
Governments/
Ministries
Universities,
Teachercolleges
Universities, Teacher
colleges
Local authority
Local authority
Local NGOs, SchoolsKnowledge ofpracticeLocal NGOs, Schools

Organisations and agents

Types ofknowledge• As International Cooperation projects move through the various levels
consisting of different agents, the concepts, knowledge and ideas
undergo complex processes and transformations• Similar to what is proposed in the Anthropological Theory of theDidactic (Chevallard, 1985), the multi-level ecosystem of International
Cooperation is complex

Issues and Challenges
Outer Issues

Inner Issues(Not directly related to maths education)(directly related to mathematics education)

Locus of authority

Behaviorist vs constructivist approaches- Authority dominates discourse

Institutional vs personal agenda

General education theories vsmathematics education theories

Practical vs Political/Planned ideas

Pure vs applied mathematics

Universal mathematics vsethnomathematics

Diverse mathematics classroom cultures

Understanding the Realities in International Cooperation• A broad spectrum of views is likely to exist in international
cooperation• Need to examine the interactions and discourse amongst the variousagents• Need to uncover the voices of the agents in the discourse• It is important to understand the narratives that might be hidden indiscourseSome Characteristics of Narratives• Narratives are accounts or interpretations of events that are expressed basedon particular theories or reflecting one’s point of view• diachronic in time (change of meaning over a period of time)• Meanings of narratives are contextual.
• Carry the narrator’s intentional state• Possess hermeneutic composability• Narratives can be based either on true events or they could be fiction, in
which case it would have the characteristic of truth likeness.
• Narratives convey the intentions of the narrator, sometimes explicitly or atother times in subtle ways so as to protect the interest of the narrator.
• One useful way to detect a narrative in a discourse is through events wherethe narrator conveys a narrative which indicates a breach in canonicity(conform to acceptable procedure) or which is against accepted norms andopinions.
(Bruner, 1991)

Dispositions of Narratives Related to Knowledge
and Beliefs• Mathematical knowledge and beliefs influence the way theteaching and learning of mathematics is practicedDisposition of Narratives Towards Aspects of Knowledge and Beliefs
Aspects ofDisposition
Knowledge andBeliefs
Views of self towards Receiver of knowledge
authority
Constructed knowing- Able to create knowledge based on the context using
subjective and objective strategies
Views of knowledge

Modernist view of knowledge- Knowledge is objective, depersonalized, value-neutral andeasily transferable between persons; prioritize the productsof learning
Postmodernist view of knowledge- Prioritize the process and human dimensions of learning;Disposition of Narratives (contd.)
Aspects of Knowledge Disposition
and Beliefs
Views of knowledge
production(Gibbons et al. 1994)

Mode 1 - Rooted in academic disciplines
Mode 2 - Rooted in community of practitioners andorganizations

Views of management

Aligning (modify) beliefs and knowledge to accomodate
elements of Performance-based management
Aligning (Modify) elements of Perfomance-based
management to accomodate beliefs and knowledge

Conclusion• To fully understand the challenges in International Cooperation in
Mathematics Education it is suggested that a good place to begin is byexamining the narratives of the agents• Examining the dispositions of the narratives can help uncoverpossible conflicting positions of the agents regarding various aspectsof mathematical knowledge and beliefs• For further theorizing there is a necessity to gather more empiricalevidence about the narratives that exist in international cooperationin mathematics education

Thank you for your attention