A PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF AN EX-TEACHER ON MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: A RETROSPECTIVE INTEGRATED ACCOUNT

This is a retrospective integrated account of an ex-teacher’s personal philosophy of mathematics education, which covers four main areas of concern: nature of mathematics and mathematics education; theories of how students learn mathematics; developments in mathematics education and implications for students with special needs; and specific types of difficulties in mathematics learning. In addition, the author has also included a section on the elements and priorities of mathematics curriculum for students with special needs. The author had taught mathematics for nine years in mainstream primary and secondary schools before he branched out into working with students with special needs and, much later, involved himself in training special education (SPED) teachers how to teach functional numeracy to students with moderate to serve disabilities.