Dr. Peter Appelbaum, Professor and Director of Disciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, posted an article on the website of Pythagoras: Journal of the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa. “Refusal as a democratic catalyst for mathematics education development” describes the connections between mathematics and democracy amongst the general populace and explores the implications of making the ‘choice’ to not participate in experiences of mathematics education, or in its (re)direction. This choice, the article argues, can be viewed as a refusal and disobedient response to the evocative power of mathematics, and perceived as a democratic action.

Appelbaum co-authored the article with his South African colleague Dr. Dalene Swanson of the Educational Research and Engagement at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa and a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, Canada. Read the article.