| dc.description.abstract | The present PhD thesis has been developed through an interweaving of reflections and
experiences in the field of mathematics education that have, gradually, steered the
research interest in a specific direction. Initially, the focus on studies and research about
informal mathematics education (Nemirovsky, Kelton & Civil, 2017) and the field of critical
mathematics education (Skovsmose & Penteado, 2012) allowed for an in-depth study of
these two strands, with a view to a connection between mathematics education and ideals
of democracy and active citizenship. Contextually, particular educational experiences,
carried out during the PhD course, have stimulated a reflection in this same sense. In
particular, my involvement in two editions of the "Proud of You" 1 project fostered the
development of some issues concerning the creation of educational activities designed in
informal mathematics education contexts and the potential, through them, to mediate
mathematical content in students from socio-culturally disadvantaged backgrounds,
acting effectively and sustainably with respect to preventing and combating early school
drop-out. The curiosity about these two issues generated an opening of the horizon of
interests that led to explore the field of active and popular pedagogy. The literature
references taken into consideration turned out to be valuable and inspiring, and opened
the way to a reflection on the possible tools for implementing a motivating didactic design
and the possibility of intertwining it with the desire for social redemption and liberation from
any kind of oppression. With these assumptions, the research then moved in a more specific
and clear direction. In particular, the focus was on the design and implementation of
teaching activities that were meaningful, from a mathematical point of view, and inclusive
and attentive to the ideals of democracy, from a social point of view. The focus therefore
shifted to the process of designing and implementing mathematical teaching activities of
the kind made explicit, paving the way for the research and the characterisation of the
mathematics education creativity. With this in mind, studies and research into
mathematical creativity have been investigated in detail, enabling the object of
investigation to be framed. With the aim of investigating the kind of mathematical creativity
involved, effective methodologies were researched for data collection and subsequent
analysis. Inspired by the research (Hadamard, 1945; Liljedahl, 2004), interviews were
conducted, involving teachers who showed great creativity in teaching design, also with
reference to socially and culturally disadvantaged contexts. [edited by Author] | it_IT |
