ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses ways in which someone may begin to unpack the very dominant 'truths' of mathematics and the mathematical child, how they can step outside the circles in which they operate. It explains the current context of educational research, what is privileged, and what opportunities and constraints this brings. The chapter explores key aspects of Michel Foucault's work whilst being aware of the paradoxes they inscribe. Historically, poststructuralism may be viewed as a reaction to structuralism. For Foucault and poststructuralism, there is no singular truth, nothing that accurately describes the world; instead, there are ways of making sense of the world. Foucault, following Nietzsche, sees all views of human nature as the expression of contingent histories and social practices. Many discourses make implicit or explicit reference to the 'natural' child and that identity is more or less static. The chapter suggests that the specifications of the 'normal' mathematical school student are formed through comparison and reference to fabricated criteria.
