Citizenship education in the mathematics curriculum after the reform of the education content in Latvia

Immense transformations occur in the modern society. Values, human rights, democracy, engagement in the life of the local community, school and the society at large are the content issues to be learnt at school which help to develop into responsible citizens of the country. The issues of citizenship education have been more extensively included both in the teaching/learning content and its implementation in all school subjects, including mathematics. Citizenship education is viewed in three aspects: knowledge about the society, skills to form relations with other people, to establish a safe and supporting environment, to follow rules and norms, attitudes to responsibilities and rights. Mathematics as a school subject is a sphere that has been little researched regarding its content and learning strategies in the aspect of citizenship education. The aim of the study is to explore and assess what changes have taken place after the education content reform in the mathematics curriculum in citizenship education. The data in the qualitative study have been obtained employing documentary research. Three criteria with respective indicators have been chosen for the analysis of the mathematics curriculum: civic knowledge, civic skills, civic values and attitudes. The study analyses two curricula of teaching/learning mathematics that are effective in Latvia for basic school (Grades 1–9) and secondary school (Grades 10–12). The results of the analyses are represented in the comparison showing the data obtained in 2013 and data obtained in 2020. The mathematics curriculum has extensively incorporated skills for learning self-respect and respect for others, developing the capacity to engage with each other, to contribute to a safe environment, as well as the skills to offer the opportunity to experiment practically with democratic principles, working alone, in small and bigger groups, listening to classmates’ opinions and giving arguments for their opinion. The innovation in the new mathematics curriculum is the inclusion of the transversal skills in the learning outcomes, including the civic participation.