Mathematics education issues in Ireland: special reference to appraisal

As we approach the end of the 1980s, many issues face mathematics educators in the shadow of general unemployment and with inadequate resources. The teaching of mathematics, for example, is becoming increasingly complex and demanding. It is being greatly affected by increased demands for accountability from society and changing pedagogical possibilities with the onslaught of the microcomputer. The focus of this study is on the identification, elaboration and analysis of key issues in mathematics education in Ireland, on which decisions will have to be made and to suggest possible responses together with probable implications. Many of these issues are not specific to Ireland. This study offers mathematics teachers, schools and ministries of education in other countries a useful rationale on key issues within which further debate and critical evaluation can take place in an organized fashion. [Continues.]