Ethical and sustainable mathematics is localised: why global paradigms fail and culturally-situated practices are essential

Abstract

This paper identifies several different interconnected challenges preventing the move towards more ethical and sustainable mathematics education: the entrenched belief in mathematical neutrality, the difficulty of simultaneously reforming mathematics and its pedagogy, the gap between academic theory and classroom practice, and the need for epistemic decolonisation. In this context, we look at both bottom-up and top-down approaches, and argue that globalised frameworks such as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are insufficient for this transformation, and that ethical and sustainable forms of mathematics ought not to be built using these as their (philosophical) foundation. These frameworks are often rooted in a Western-centric development paradigm that can perpetuate colonial hierarchies and fails to resolve inherent conflicts between economic growth and ecological integrity. As an alternative, this paper advocates for embracing localised, culturally-situated mathematical practices. Using the Ethics in Mathematics Project as a case study within a Western, Global North institution, this paper illustrates a critical-pragmatic, multi-level strategy for fostering ethical consciousness within a specific research community, and shows how this may be achieved in otherwise adversarial circumstances.