Also in Mathematics, Portugal in countercycle – Observer
Changes to the Mathematics curriculum were homologated last week. In the assessment of the Portuguese Mathematical Society (SPM), these alterations push the learning of the subject in secondary education to “unexplained historical lows”, representing “a great setback”. Specifically, the SPM identifies in these amendments “outdated and anti-scientific conceptions that have prevailed for 50 years and are completely outdated by modern scientific research”, with instruction in preparing young people for courses in higher education. And he states: “students who want to demonstrate scientific areas with a strong mathematical component will have a very insufficient mathematical knowledge, which will condition them to succeed in higher education and consequently in professional practice”. For the curious, the complete opinion of the SPM detail these and other requests.
They will tell me: it’s just another curriculum reform, why dramatize it? Because, relying on the opinion of the SPM, this reform not only reduces the level of demand but also exposes the misalignment of the Portuguese educational system with the international trend: it lightens the teaching of Mathematics, instead of strengthening it. To think that this does not have profound and lasting consequences is an illusion.
There are several present and future challenges that justify the reinforcement of mathematics learning, both in terms of knowledge (mathematics literacy) and skills (abstract thinking, reasoning, logic). In France, this was understood and 2023 will be “the year of the promotion of Mathematics”. The subject will once again be compulsory for all secondary school students and the strategy involves “reconciling students” with the subject, through a wide range of measures. In the 1st cycle of basic education, more continuous training of teachers in Mathematics. In the 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education, incentives for the creation of mathematics clubs, and targeted support: 6th grade students with greater difficulties in Mathematics will have access to classes in reduced classes for a more individualized support for learning. In secondary education, support for students and mandatory at least 1h30 per week of Mathematics.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Sunak gave the first speech of 2023 on the importance of teaching Mathematics and expressed his intention: that all secondary school students study mathematics until age 18, becoming part of the common core of compulsory subjects (today, only about half of students attend Mathematics classes). The British prime minister’s strategic priorities were clear: it is necessary to “reimagine the approach to numeracy”, preparing for a job market where there is data and statistics in all domains, and giving confidence to people who have to deal with financial issues in the your everyday life.
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