Identifying primary school students’ beliefs about mathematics and its history: The development and application of a questionnaire

Despite a rich body of literature on both students’ general beliefs about mathematics and the value of history-based teaching, very few studies connect these two fields. In this article, we present the results of a specific study on students’ beliefs about mathematics and its history. Drawing on reflections regarding historical learning in school settings, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 853 students in grades 4, 5, and 6 in France, Ghana, and the USA. Statistical analysis using unsupervised clustering with the k-means method highlighted three specific epistemological profiles: absolutist-fixist , historico-individualistic , and dynamico-cultural . The examination of the distribution of these three epistemological stances across contexts revealed an overrepresentation of incorrect beliefs—viewing mathematics mainly as a set of static results produced by solitary geniuses — in situations marked by academic difficulties, such as in Ghanaian educational system. Conversely, correct beliefs, which reflect an understanding of the full dynamics of scientific production, were more strongly represented in more socio-culturally favorable contexts, such as France and the USA. Our questionnaire, which was designed and adapted for very young students without requiring any specific prior knowledge of history, could thus serve as a potential measurement tool for further pretest–posttest interventions aimed at enriching mathematics education through knowledge of its history. All data were collected in compliance with the regulations applicable in each of the participating countries.