ABSTRACT
At different times during the second half of the 20th century, the Nordic countries expanded compulsory schooling and reformed school systems. Also, in the 1960s and 1970s, New Math was an international movement, with a collaboration on a Nordic level through the Nordic Committee for the Modernization of Mathematics Education. In this chapter, we investigate how New Math played out in basic education in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This investigation is based on New Math literature concerning these Nordic countries, including research on curriculum documents, textbooks, assessments, political processes, and public reception. We argue that the timing of the school reforms, the degree of centralization in the governance of school systems, and differing views on mathematics have influenced the implementation processes of New Math.
