On Culture and Mathematics Teacher Education

Many countries are multicultural. Mathematics teacher education classes often are composed of students with varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and mathematics teachers may be employed in regions from which they do not come. Formal (mathematics) education is a process of cultural interaction, and every child and teacher may experience some degree of social and cultural conflict in that process. This paper describes and reflects on some of these tensions, as they exist in mathematics teacher education in Mozambique. The process of developing among future mathematics teachers an awareness of the social and cultural bases of mathematics is object of reflection.