Ritualisation in early number work

• Published in: Educational studies in mathematics Vol. 101; no. 2; pp. 177 - 194
• Main Authors: Coles, Alf, Sinclair, Nathalie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01-06-2019; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Education; Educational Practices; Educational Research; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Numbers; Repetition; Rites and ceremonies; Ritual; Rote Learning; Study and teaching; Canada; United Kingdom; Ritual; Number naming; Ritualisation; Early number; Symbolically structured environment
• ISSN: 0013-1954; 1573-0816
• DOI: 10.1007/s10649-018-9815-6

In this paper, we propose a way of thinking about ritual that is new to mathematics education research and that challenges the more common approaches to ritual that dichotomise thinking and acting. We argue for a material, monist conceptualisation of ritual, which we refer to as ritualisation. In the context of early number work, we show that ritualisation can be seen as meaningful—and not simply as rote repetition lacking mathematical sophistication—particularly in relation to a symbolically structured environment. We argue that ritualisation practices can allow entry into new fields of activity and discourse, without going through a phase of merely un-thinking performance.