ABSTRACT
Social constructivism identifies mathematics as a social institution, resulting from human problem posing and solving. A number of philosophers have identified problems and problem solving as lying at the heart of the scientific enterprise. Problem solving and investigational work have been a widespread part of the rhetoric of British mathematics education since Cockcroft. The object or focus of inquiry is either the problem itself or the starting point of the investigation. For it is possible to distinguish the object or focus of inquiry, the process of inquiry, and an inquiry based pedagogy. The strongest negative reaction to problems and investigations is their rejection as inappropriate to school mathematics. This is based on the perception that school mathematics is content orientated, and that its central function is to inculcate basic mathematical skills. The incorporation and institutionalization of problem solving and its assessment into the mathematics curriculum serves to routinize strategic mathematical thinking, which robs it of its emancipatory power.
