Book Review: Critical Mathematics Education

Abstract

Critical mathematics education opens up new ways of seeing mathematics by challenging long-held beliefs and assumptions that mathematics is neutral, value-free, and disconnected from social power. This book demonstrates the role of mathematics in organizing the world and society, in relation to inequality, social justice, environmental issues, and democracy. Skovsmose presents a critical perspective through landscapes of investigation and dialogue, shifting learning away from rote memorization toward the development of ethical, social, and self-awareness. This approach enables learners, regardless of their backgrounds or social positions, to use mathematics as a tool for critically reading and writing the world. The book thus invites all stakeholders to reconsider the role of mathematics as a practice with ethical and political implications, and to reflect on the goals of mathematics education in Thailand so that they align with the challenges of the contemporary world, characterized by economic, social, and political uncertainty