Overview: Challenges for Teaching Statistics in School Mathematics and Preparing Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

For five years, a group of mathematics and statistics educators worked in collaboration to reflect on the teaching of statistics in school mathematics and on the training of those teachers who are responsible for this teaching, under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) and the International Association for Statistical Education (IASE). Results from this work are reflected first in the Proceedings of the Joint ICMI/IASE Study Conference held in Monterrey in 2008 (Batanero, Burrill, Reading, & Rossman, 2008) and second in this book. These two documents have contributed to raising awareness of the need for increased statistical content at school levels to improve statistical literacy in young students around the world as well as awareness of the related challenges in training and supporting mathematics teachers who teach statistics. For each of the initial Topics in the Joint Study, this final chapter gives a reflective summary of the discussions held at the Study Conference (part of which were first analysed in Batanero & Díaz, 2010) and the main ideas discussed throughout this book.