Since the middle of the 18th century we have had national curricula in Norway. School laws have been passed, and subject matter frameworks have been created to make sure that these laws were followed in the schools. In the current framework for grades 1-10, called L97, mathematics in everyday life has become a subject of it's own, side by side with numbers, geometry, algebra etc. This underlines that it is important to connect the school mathematics with the daily life experiences of the children, or as the curriculum states:
The syllabus seeks to create close links between school mathematics and mathematics in the outside world. Day-to-day experience, play and experiments help to build up its concepts and terminology (KUF 1996, p. 165).
Our research project aims at teachers' beliefs, ideas and strategies on how this particular theme in the curriculim can be implemented. How do the teachers actually connect the school mathematics with the pupils' everyday lives? And what are their thoughts and ideas on the role of this theme?
In this paper, the focus will be on the historical development of this particular theme in Norwegian curricula, followed by an introduction to the classroom study in ptogress. This is a preliminary report. Further results of our research will be presented in later publications.
Kan bestilles (kostnadsfritt), i pdf-format, ved henvendelse til: post@tfn.no