2: Theory in Mathematics Education Scholarship

This chapter addresses the use of theory in mathematics education scholarship.¹ We approach our task as one of characterizing how theory is used in our field, taking a practice-oriented perspective rather than a normative one. Yet we do not advocate a passive stance toward theory development and use. Rather, we intend that the review we offer here, and the embedded framework for considering theory as central to the relationships between problems, research, and practice, will stimulate reflection, growth, and improvement in the way that theory is viewed, developed, and used in our field.

As Mason and Waywood (1996) have noted, “theory is a value-laden term with a long and convoluted history” (p. 1055). A synopsis of that history may be seen in contemporary usage of the word theory. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) lists the following as nonobsolete meanings of the word:²