Chapter 22: Mathematics and Curriculum Integration: Challenging the Hierarchy of School Knowledge

This paper explores the complex ways that mathematics teachers develop their identity within schools. I discuss a curriculum integration project in which untenured mathematics teachers attempted to cross discipline borders and create an authentic learning experience in a traditional middle school in Canada. I first discuss the procedure for curriculum integration, and explain how such integration is often problematic if too quickly implemented in traditional school contexts. I also discuss the theoretical literature about curriculum integration and explore the role of school mathematics in knowledge integration. I focus my analysis on the conflicts between untenured and veteran teachers in the mathematics department as the project was implemented, pointing out how tensions between these teachers can be interpreted through the lens of critical theory.