The 'mathematically able child' in primary mathematics education: a discursive approach

Abstract

Grouping according to perceptions of ability is widely used in the teaching of mathematics in many countries. These practices may be viewed as operating within discursive complexes concerned with the mathematically able child. This paper uses Foucault’s theories of discourse to argue that such a child is discursively produced, and that the differentiating pedagogies that characterise mathematics teaching in many New Zealand primary schools are supported within such discourse. It investigates the disposition surrounding the ‘mathematically able child’, and considers implications of dominant discursive accounts of mathematical ability for young learners.