Ole Skovsmose

Ole Skovsmose is a mathematics educator, philosopher, and artist. He was born in 1944 in Hjørring, a small town in northern Denmark. He is acknowledged for his studies in critical mathematics education and, within this field, his research especially addresses the following themes: landscapes of investigation, dialogue, students’ foreground, inclusive mathematics education, pedagogical imagination, mathematics in action, philosophy of mathematics education, and philosophy of mathematics. He is an emeritus professor at the Department of Culture and Learning at Aalborg University, Denmark, and a volunteer professor at the Graduate Program in Mathematics Education at the Sao Paulo State University (Unesp), Rio Claro campus. As an artist, he has exhibited his works in galleries and museums around the world, and he is a member of the Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques and the Danish Association of Visual Artists (Billedkunstnernes Forbund).
==Biography==
Ole Skovsmose lived in the town of Hjørring until he was 24 years old. There he attended Folkeskole (equivalent to Elementary School). Since his youth he has been drawing and painting and has always worked with children. Before dedicating himself to teaching, he was also a handball coach and an employee at a surveying company. His father worked as a low-paid tailor as an employee in a workshop; and his mother was dedicated to domestic activities.
After Folkeskole, he studied at Hjørring Teacher Training College, with an emphasis on studies in mathematics. There he graduated as a teacher in 1967.
In 1968, Skovsmose started studying at University of Copenhagen and teaching mathematics. From 1972 he taught mathematics at a teacher training college in Copenhagen. In 1975, he completed a Master's Degree in philosophy and mathematics at the University of Copenhagen. The same year, he was introduced to a translation of the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire. Both this reading and the German discussion of kritische mathematik-unterriecht (critical mathematics education) that were circulating at the time, inspired him. In 1982 he accomplished a Doctorate in mathematics education at the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, defending the thesis “Kritik, matematik og undervisning” (“Criticism, mathematics, and education”), under the supervision of Bent Christiansen. Bent Christiansen Quick Info. In this way, Ole Skovsmose became the first doctor in mathematics education in Denmark.
In 1995 Skovsmose accomplished a Dr. Science at Aalborg University, defending the thesis Towards Philosophy of Critical Mathematics Education. It is from that work that he grounded what would be his main field of study, critical mathematics education. At Aalborg University he worked for 25 years first as an associate professor and later as a full professor. He currently holds the position there as professor emeritus.
Ole Skovsmose's ideas are present in more than 50 books, including authored books, book chapters, and edited books. They are as well elaborated in more than 150 scientific articles, as an author or in co-authorship. Currently, he lives in São Paulo, Brazil, working as a volunteer professor at the Graduate Program in Mathematics Education at the São Paulo State University (Unesp),Webpage for the Graduate Program in Mathematics Education at the São Paulo State University (Unesp), in Portuguese Rio Claro campus, acting especially in supervising doctoral students. He is the father of two children and married to mathematics educator Miriam Godoy Penteado.
==Artistic work==
Parallel to his work as an educator and academic, Ole Skovsmose is an artist. He has held exhibitions in galleries and museums in England, USA, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Norway, Bulgaria, Brazil, and Denmark, as, for instance, Lessedra Art Gallery (Bulgaria), Carrousel du Louvre (France), and the Museu Histórico Nacional (Brazil). In 2015 Skovsmose also presented works during the European and Latin American Biennial of Contemporary Art, and at the time was interviewed by TV Brasil. He has participated in several collaborative artistic projects, combining music and painting. He is a member of the Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques.
In the book Saudade, one can read about the history of some of his paintings, including those that are part of the projects: Faces as Landscapes, Touching the Horizon and The Four Graces.
==Theoretical contributions==
Since his first academic work, Ole Skovsmose has addressed the socio-political aspects of mathematics education and mathematics in general, publishing a lot of works and taking part in collaborative projects. For instance, he joined the international research group BacoMET (Basic Components of Mathematics Education for Teachers) [https://fddm.uni-paderborn.de/personen/arbeitsgruppen/ag-biehler/personen/biehler-rolf/projekte/bacomet-v BaCoMET. which included the mathematics educators Alan Bishop, Guy Brousseau, Geoffrey Howson, Celia Hoyles, Jeremy Kilpatrick, and Michael Otte. Together with Celia Hoyles and Jeremy Kilpatrick, he was the director of this project which resulted in the book "Meaning in Mathematics Education". Kilpatrick, J.; Hoyles, C.; Skovsmose, O. in collaboration with Valero (Eds.). (2005). Meaning in mathematics education. New York: Springer..
All his works led to the development of several notions and concepts, for instance, critical mathematics education, Skovsmose, O. (1980). Forandringer i matematikundervisningen. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Skovsmose, O. (1981a). Matematikundervisning og kritisk pædagogik. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Skovsmose, O. (1981b). Alternativer i matematikundervisningen. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Skovsmose, O. (1984). Kritik, undervisning og matematik. Copenhagen: Lærerforeningernes Materialeudvalg. Skovsmose, O. (1994). Towards a philosophy of critical mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Skovsmose, O. (2005). Travelling through education: Uncertainty, mathematics, responsibility. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Skovsmose, O. (2023). Critical mathematics education. Cham: Springer. landscapes of investigation, Penteado, M. G.; Skovsmose, O. (Eds.). (2022). Landscapes of Investigation: contributions to critical mathematics education. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. students’ foregrounds, Skovsmose, O. (1994). Towards a philosophy of critical mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Skovsmose, O. (2014a). Foregrounds: Opaque stories about learning. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Skovsmose, O. (2023). Critical mathematics education. Cham: Springer. inclusive mathematics education, Kollosche, D., Marcone, R., Knigge, M., Penteado, M. G., & Skovsmose, O. (Eds.). (2019). Inclusive mathematics education: State-of-the-art research from Brazil and Germany. Springer. Skovsmose, O., Maura, A., & Carrijo, M. (2023). Inclusive citizenship through mathematics education. ZDM. pedagogical imagination, Skovsmose, O., & Borba, M. (2004). Research methodology and critical mathematics education. In Researching the socio-political dimensions of mathematics education: Issues of power in theory and methodology (pp. 207–226). Boston, MA: Springer US. Skovsmose, O. (2009). In Doubt: About language, mathematics, knowledge and life-worlds. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Skovsmose, O.; Lima, P.; Penteado, M. G. (in print). mathematics in action, Skovsmose, O. (2014). Critique as uncertainty. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing. philosophy of mathematics. Ravn, O.; Skovsmose, O. (2019). Connecting humans to equations: A reinterpretation of the philosophy of mathematics. Cham: Springer. Skovsmose, O. (2020). Mathematics and ethics. Qualitative Research Journal, 8(18), 479–503. Special Edition: Philosophy of Mathematics. Reprinted in Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, (36). Skovsmose, O. (2021). Mathematics and crises. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 108(1-2), 369–383.
The book "Critical mathematics education: Past, present, and future", by H.Alrø, O Ravn and P. Valero Alrø, H., Ravn, O., & Valero, P. (Eds.) (2010) Critical mathematics education: Past, present, and future. Sense Publishers. presents Ole Skovsmose as the most important name in developing the notion of critical mathematics education. 
==Books==
===As author or coauthor===
* Skovsmose, O. (2023). Critical mathematics education. Cham: Springer.
* Penteado, M. G.; Skovsmose, O. (Eds.). (2022). Landscapes of Investigation: contributions to critical mathematics education. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers.
* Ravn, O.; Skovsmose, O. (2019). Connecting humans to equations: A reinterpretation of the philosophy of mathematics. Cham: Springer.
* Skovsmose, O. (2014). Um convite à educação matemática crítica. Campinas: Papirus.
* Skovsmose, O. (2014a). Foregrounds: Opaque stories about learning. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
* Skovsmose, O. (2014). Critique as uncertainty. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
* Skovsmose, O.; Ravn, O. (2011). Matematikfilosofi. Aarhus: Systime.
* Skovsmose, O. (2009). In Doubt: About language, mathematics, knowledge and life-worlds. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
* Skovsmose, O. (2008). Desafios da reflexão em educação matemática crítica. Campinas: Papirus.
* Skovsmose, O. (2007). Educação crítica: Incerteza, Matemática, Responsabilidade. São Paulo: Cortez Editora.
* Alrø, H.; Skovsmose. (2006). Diálogo e aprendizagem em educação matemática. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica.
* Skovsmose, O. (2005). Travelling through education: Uncertainty, mathematics, responsibility. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
* Alrø, H.; Skovsmose (2002). Dialogue and learning in mathematics education: Intention, reflection, critique. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
* Skovsmose, O. (2001). Educação matemática crítica: A questão da democracia. Campinas: Papirus.
* Nielsen, L.; Patronis, T.; Skovsmose, O. (1999). Connecting corners: A Greek-Danish project in mathematics education. Aarhus: Systime.
* Skovsmose, O. (1999). Hacia una Filosofía de la Educación Matemática Crítica. Bogotá: Una Empresa Docente.
* Skovsmose, O. (1994). Towards a philosophy of critical mathematics education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
* Skovsmose, O. (1990). Ud over matematikken. Aarhus: Systime.
* Siggaard, H.; Skovsmose, O. (1986). Teknologikritik. Herning: Systime.
* Skovsmose, O. (1984). Kritik, undervisning og matematik. Copenhagen: Lærerforeningernes Materialeudvalg. 
* Skovsmose, O. (1981b). Alternativer i matematikundervisningen. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
* Skovsmose, O. (1981a). Matematikundervisning og kritisk pædagogik. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
* Skovsmose, O. (1980). Forandringer i matematikundervisningen. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
===As coeditor===
* Valero, P.; Skovsmose, Ole (Eds.). (2012). Educación matemática crítica: Una visión sociopolítica del apendizaje y la enseñanza de las matemáticas. Bogotá: Universidad de Los Andes.
* Skovsmose, O.; Valero, P.; Christensen, O. R. (Eds.). (2009). University science and mathematics education in transition. New York: Springer.
* Skovsmose, O.; Blomhøj M. (Eds). (2006). Kunne det tænkes? Om matematiklæring. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.
* Kilpatrick, J.; Hoyles, C.; Skovsmose, O. in collaboration with Valero (Eds.). (2005). Meaning in mathematics education. New York: Springer.
* Skovsmose, O.; Blomhøj. M. (Eds.). (2003). Kan det virkelig passe? Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.
Category:Mathematics education
Category:Philosophers
Category:Artists
Category:1944 births