ABSTRACT
The ‘purist’ ideology leads to a restricted view of the resources appropriate for school mathematics. The aims of this group for mathematics education are those of the old humanists applied to mathematics: a concern with the transmission of mathematical knowledge, culture and values. The fact that the pressures of the industrial trainers and technological pragmatists for applied knowledge were resisted for so long is an indication of the strength of the old humanist lobby, the mathematical old humanists in particular. In particular, the mathematical old humanists regard mathematics as intrinsically valuable, a central element of culture. Mathematics is identified with pure mathematics, and its applications are not considered to be the concern of either ‘real’ mathematicians, or of the philosophy of mathematics. The theory of the child regards children as having full rights as individuals, and needing nurturing, protection and enriching experiences to allow them to develop to their full potential.
