Theory of mathematical ability
The progressive educator theory of mathematical ability is individualistic. Its central assumption is that there are innate, inherited differences in mathematical ability leading to differential individual rates of development or unfolding. These, in turn, lead to different levels of ‘readiness’ for further mathematical development. However, each individual’s mathematical ability needs an appropriate set of experiences to be fully realized, otherwise the child’s growth may be stultified. Two contradictory forces are at work, deriving from rationalist and empiricist epistemology. There is the pull of