CHAPTER 44: Secondary Mathematics Education Curriculum Developments: Reflecting on Canadian Trends

I recently attended a professional meeting where a conversation focused on the potential changes in the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol (WNCP) secondary mathematics curriculum. The suggestion was made that Alberta drop its applied mathematics courses in favour of returning to the Mathematics 10-20-30, Mathematics 13-23-33 and Mathematics 14-24 programs of the early 1990s. I was saddened to hear this conversation.

I am a mathematics teacher educator in Saskatchewan, a province that does not have an applied or consumer mathematics program. There is one mathematics program for all secondary students. Most of the teacher candidates in the teacher-education program at the University of Saskatchewan are graduates of the provincial system. I am saddened when I hear about their experiences in the secondary mathematics program—experiences that have led many of them to believe that they cannot “do” mathematics. Yet, the teacher candidates who tell these stories are the elementary mathematics teachers of the future, the teachers who will be expected to excite children and help them develop a passion for mathematics.