Evolution of Pupils' Attitudes to Mathematics When Using a Philosophical Approach

Abstract

Introduction: This paper forms part of an ongoing global study examining the effects of a philosophical approach in mathematics. In other papers, we have presented results concerning thinking skills (Daniel, Lafortune, Pallascio, and Schleifer, submitted for publication), and concepts of co-operation (Schleifer, Daniel, Lafortune, Pallascio, accepted for publication). This paper focuses on the impact of a philosophical approach on attitudes toward mathematics. We have previously noted (Daniel, Lafortune, Pallascio, Sykes, 1994) the existence of a perception that attitudes become more positive to mathematics when a philosophical approach is used. In this paper we present a more systematic study of a group of students from two different schools, whose initial attitudes toward mathematics varied from positive to negative. We first present our general approach, and then discuss the results obtained.