Influence of the didactic paradigms over research in didactics and teaching

Abstract

Our starting point is the thesis, perhaps already widely accepted, according to which the epistemological model of mathematics prevailing in a didactic institution strongly affects the teaching in that institution. One of the aims of this work is to enlighten and to generalize this thesis. We will suggest that, rather than just the epistemological model, a complete explanation of teaching practices taking place in a certain institution should also take into account what we call didactic paradigms. At the same time, if we enlarge the notion of theory in didactics by means of the idea of praxeology of research in didactics, it becomes clear that a didactic paradigm is something that can also live or be assumed by such a praxeology of research in didactics, and that affects the kind of research problems considered therein. Therefore, for two theories in didactics to stablish a connection, it is required to make explicit the didactic paradigm assumed by each one.