Challenges for research in tertiary mathematics education for non-specialists: Where are we and where are we to go?
Résumé
The challenges raised by the teaching of mathematics for non-specialists in tertiary mathematics education were pointed out by mathematicians long ago. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, innovations and reflections have developed around the world, but research in mathematics education in this area is still underdeveloped. Where are we and where are we to go? In this chapter, we address these two issues with a specific focus on engineering education. Returning to the history of the field, we discuss these challenges, how they have been perceived and dealt with, and how they are regularly renewed by scientific and technological advances, or societal evolution and emerging concerns. Then, using examples selected from recent research and development work and through the institutional and epistemological perspective offered by the anthropological theory of the didactic, we illustrate the progression of theoretical approaches and knowledge over the past two decades, and discuss the perspectives for future research that this analysis opens.