Critical Mathematics Education: Recognizing the Ethical Dimension of Problem Solving

In this paper, I examine the notion of ‘real life’ mathematical applications as possible sites for ethical reflection in school mathematics. I discuss problems with the ‘real’ in mathematics education, and show how these problems are often based on faulty cognitive theories of knowledge transfer. I then consider alternative visions of mathematical application and suggest that attention to classroom discourse and the craft of mathematics offer ways of introducing the ethical into school mathematics.