Dissertation: The Wicked World of Algebra
Jenny Fred’s doctoral thesis re-imagines the teaching and learning of early algebra for students in grades K–3 in light of current socio-ecological crises.
Jenny Fred. Photo: Private.
In her doctoral thesis, Jenny Fred explores a novel type of problem situation—algebraic wicked problems—that challenges students to engage simultaneously with early algebraic thinking and socio-ecological issues. The thesis also examines what it means to draw on critical mathematics education (Skovsmose, 1994) in order to broaden understandings of early algebra as culturally and socially meaningful mathematical ideas for young learners.
The study adopts a practice-oriented methodological approach in which in-service teachers, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, and researchers collaboratively developed algebra activities aimed at fostering both young students’ algebraic thinking and their citizenship. The framework proposed by Skovsmose and Borba (2004) provided theoretical and methodological tools for imagining educational possibilities beyond current practices.
Included articles in the thesis:
- Fred, J., & Boistrup, L. B. (2017). Students’ qualitatively different ways of experiencing pattern generalization. Quaderni di Ricerca in Didattica (Mathematics), 27(2), 155–162.
- Fred, J. (2019). Att designa för elevers deltagande i ett algebraiskt arbete: Elever i årskurs 2 och 3 utforskar visuellt växande mönster. Nordisk matematikkdidaktikk NOMAD[Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education], 24(3–4), 107–130.
3. Fred, J., Valero, P., & Van Steenbrugge, H. (2022). Powerful algebraic ideas: Early algebraic thinking and active citizenship. In J. Hodgen, E. Geraniou, G. Bolondi, & F. Ferretti (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twelfth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME12), (pp. 489–496). Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and ERME.
4. Fred, J., Valero, P., &, Van Steenbrugge, H. (2023). Algebraic wicked problem: Bridging the gap between early school algebra and socially relevant issues? In P. Drijvers, C. Csapodi, H. Palmér, K. Gosztonyi, & E. Kónya (Eds.), Proceedings of the Thirteenth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME13). Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics & Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest.
5. Fred, J., Van Steenbrugge, H., & Valero, P. (2024a). Connecting early algebra and sustainability through dilemmas in Algebraic Wicked Problems. In Twohill, A., Isler-Baykal, I., Knuth, E., Ribeiro, A. J., & Miller, J. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME15), Topic Study Group 1.2: Teaching and learning of early algebra, (pp. 16–23). Sydney, Australia.
6. Fred, J., Valero, P., & Van Steenbrugge, H. (2025). Integrating the socio-ecological and early algebra. In K. le Roux, A. Coles, A. Solares-Rojas, A. Bose, C. P. Vistro-Yu, P. Valero, N. Sinclair, M. Makramalla, R. Gutiérrez, V. Geiger, & M. Borba (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th ICMI Study Conference Mathematics Education and the Socio-Ecological (pp. 464–471). MATHTED — ICMI.
Download and read the full thesis by Jenny Fred
Roll | Namn |
|---|---|
Opponent | Professor Emeritus Luis Radford (Université Laurentienne) |
Chair | Associate Professor Auli Arvola Orlander (Stockholm University) |
Examining committee | Professor Maria Johansson (Luleå University of Technology), |
Supervisors | Senior Lecturer Hendrik van Steenbrugge |
PhD student |
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Last updated: 2026-05-20
Source: Department of Teaching and Learning