Abstract:
This paper focused on John Dewey's representations about mathematics education. Specifically, the objective was to explore Dewey's representations about the teaching of arithmetic and the number concept, based on texts he wrote after publishing the handbook The psychology of number (TPN) as a coauthor. Some of the sources were two letters written by Dewey, answering critics made of the TPN, and a review. The analysis was based on such concepts as representation, field, and social/institutional place, according to theorists as Roger Chartier, Michel de Certeau and Pierre Bourdieu. It is evident that the disputes between the fields, mainly of psychology and mathematics, concern the determination of who owns legitimacy to deliberate about the teaching of arithmetic. It is also possible to notice Dewey's representations about mathematics education, as he reiterates some aspects present in the TPN such as the psychical nature of number and the relation with the ideas of measurement and ratio.
Keywords:
Mathematics education; Concepts; John Dewey; Psychology of number; Arithmetics teaching