Contribuciones y límites de tres perspectivas interpretativas de las dificultades de enseñanza y aprendizaje en matemáticas en los alumnos de primaria

Resumen

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the contributions and limitations of three different perspectives on teaching difficulties and learning disabilities in mathematics at the elementary level. More particularly, this article follows on various studies seeking to document the fundamental source of these problems. A review of the mostly French-language academic literature produced over the past 30 years uncovers three broad points of view regarding students with learning disabilities in mathematics. The first, which is rooted in the cognitive sciences, attributes these learning disabilities to students’ inherent characteristics. The second considers that these difficulties stem from the interaction between the student and the teaching system. The third perspective relies on the foundations of sociology to interpret the learning difficulties experienced by students in mathematics. The purpose of this paper is to describe these three perspectives and to paint a picture of the different tools used by their proponents to overcome problems related to teaching and learning mathematics. The article also offers up a brief reflection on the opportunity of bringing these different points of view together.

 Keywords: Learning disabilities, didactics of mathematics, sociology, anthropo-didactic approach, cognitive sciences.