Algebra: A World of Difference

Abstract

This chapter serves to highlight that the teaching of algebra is very different in different educational jurisdictions. It shows some of the differences in school structures that impinge on who learns algebra and at what stage. It surveys briefly some of the differences in content and the nature of algebraic activity. There is no attempt here to be comprehensive, but instead to point out some of the dimensions of difference around the world. There are weak links between the structures of schooling and the nature of algebra, and between the use of technology and the nature and purpose of algebraic activity. However the scene is characterised more by different themes and multiple variations on..