Resumen

In the United States by the turn of 20th century, the basic precollege mathematics curriculum of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry was firmly in place. Since then, there have been changes but no substantial reform. The two most significant reform efforts during this century have been the move toward unified and applied mathematics as the century began and the modern mathematics movement of 1950s and 1960s. Neither of these efforts had it intend effect on the school curriculum, though both left residues. In each case, however, the movement had a profound effect on the mathematics education community, particularly at the post-second level. Viewing curriculum reform as the technical rather then a moral and ethical process has led reformers to neglect the basic issues of curriculum discourse.