Chapter 12: Critical Mathematics Education in the Context of “Real-Life Education”

Learning Conversations in Mathematics Practice (LCMP) is a research project that aims at developing the concept of the “learning conversation”¹ as a didactical concept and as a tool for describing and facilitating learning processes in mathematics.² The project is engaged in collaborative inquiry processes involving pupils, teachers, student teachers and didacticians.³ It includes a study of the communicative characteristics of prevailing educational practices in the field of mathematics teaching and learning, and of the professional development of mathematics teachers. Thus, the learning conversations are directed towards different kinds of learning and different kinds of learning outcomes.

The LCMP project is oriented towards collaborative inquiry and activities, especially those related to the critical aspects of mathematics education. Thus, several subprojects investigating LCMP focus on critical mathematics education, mathematical literacy, and the stimulation of pupils' and student teachers' critical mathematical competencies (Alrø & Johnsen-Høines, 2010; Johnsen-Høines & Alrø, 2012; Hansen, 2010, Rangnes 2010).