The evolution of a theory in didactics : the example of didactic transposition

ABSTRACT

This paper deals with didactic transposition. The aim of this theory is to study the factors that make school mathematics different from research mathematics. After giving a brief account of it, we study the main issues that have been debated since the theory’s existence : the definition of such notions as scholarly knowledge and noosphere, the means of studying and defining "taught knowledge" accurately, the theory’s field of application, the possibility of discovering working ru les for the educational system which might lirnit the ability to act on this system. Then, particular phenomena which appear when applying this theory to the teaching of physics are considered. Lastly we set out the most recent developments of this theory, which allows a more general debate on the questions of transformation and transfer of knowledge in society.

Research in Didactique of Mathematics (selected papers), pp. 107-130