Meta-rules of discursive practice in mathematics classrooms from Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo

It is widely acknowledged that discursive practice in classrooms plays a key role in student learning of mathematics. This study extends a previous study on spoken mathematics and seeks to compare the discursive practices in classrooms from Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo with a particular focus on meta-discursive rules that regulate exchanges between the teacher and students. The analysis centres on the events when the topic of “linear equations” was introduced. The similarities and differences of the three classrooms suggest that while the shared macrocultural values and beliefs may frame the social activity of the classrooms in similar ways, the meta-discursive rules of classroom microculture determine the opportunities for student learning in mathematics.