Mathematics Education
Our courses in Mathematics Education are primarily intended for teachers who want to deepen their knowledge of teaching and learning in mathematics. In classroom situations you can practice what you learn, but you can also take a course with the intention to go further on with advanced studies in Mathematics Education.
Subject description
Mathematics as a subject in schools has a double aim. On the one hand, it is a general formative subject that promotes people's understanding and creative use of mathematically based technological systems. It also makes possible to become an active and critical citizen who can make informed decisions in many everyday situations. On the other hand, it is a subject that prepares for further education in mathematically intensive programs.
In the first years of school, mathematics is connected to the exploration of the surroundings that allow conceptual development as well as acquisition of mathematical language and symbols. In afterschool programmes it is about the use of informal mathematical activities. And in the later years of school and high school, mathematics is about a progressive path of formalisation and abstraction.
Mathematics Education is the scientific basis for the work of mathematics teachers. It addresses issues of teaching, conceptual development and learning. For example, it includes the exploration of questions such as how particular mathematical content is communicated in a teaching situation, which mathematical areas and competencies are prioritized and why, and why mathematics is a central area of the curriculum in school. Other important areas that Mathematics Education explores are the use of teaching materials and ICT, the configuration of curricula, attitudes towards mathematics and the significance of language, culture, gender and identity development in relation to mathematics.
Career opportunities
As a mathematics teacher you are very attractive in the job market. The continuation of studies in Mathematics Education gives you additional possibilities for career development. It can also be the basis for further research education.
Courses and programmes
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PhD studies
Choosing a research education in Mathematics Education allows you to develop competencies important to current knowledge-based school development. Alongside with experienced researchers, you learn to define workable, relevant research problems.
Read more about our postgraduate education (in Swedish)
Degree
To obtain a magister or master exam in Mathematics Education, you have to study one of the programmes listed under Education.
Research
Research in Mathematics Education is the systematic study of the many facets of mathematics as a subject of teaching and learning in current society.
The research at Stockholm University covers all the levels of the educational system. It also studies areas where mathematics is used as part of professional tools for action (e.g., adult workplace mathematics learning and mathematics teachers' professional practice).
The research adopts a variety of theoretical perspectives from pedagogy, psychology and cognition, sociology and cultural studies, and educational sciences. This unfolds in topics such as children's mathematical reasoning and thinking, higher mathematics conceptual development, assessment of mathematics learning, multilingualism and cultural diversity in school mathematics learning, school mathematics and social inclusion and exclusion, and mathematics' teachers learning and professional development.
The research not only connects to traditions in Sweden, but also follows contemporary trends in the international research in Mathematics Education. In this way, the research attends to concrete educational problems in Sweden and contributes to international knowledge production in the field.
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Contact
Study Counsellor
studievagledning.did@su.se