Sonia Ursini

Technology for Mathematics Education: Equity, Access and Agency

In this chapter, issues of equity – including gender, access, and agency – with respect to the learning of mathematics with technology are examined. Research findings are not equivocal. Compared to late developing countries, where issues of access to technology can be complicated by educational and cultural values and beliefs, there seems to be greater access to technology to be used for the learning of mathematics in developed nations. There also appears to be some disparity in findings on the relationship between technology use and gender differences in mathematics achievement; in some countries the gender gap favoring males may be closing, while in other countries, where there have been little or no gender differences in the past, the gap may be widening. Areas in which more research is needed have been identified.

Research on the Learning and Teaching of Algebra

For many years, the mathematics education community has investigated the difficulties students have with algebra. Different aspects of algebraic thinking, considered to be fundamental to overcome those difficulties, have been analyzed by researchers using a variety of theoretical frameworks.