Introduction to Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology

This chapter briefly introduces the focus and structure of this volume. Piaget’s scholarship, which he preferred to refer to as genetic epistemology, has provided powerful tools for mathematics education research. This chapter briefly considers Piaget’s background in biology and his interest in mathematics that together help account for why his work has been particularly useful in researching children’s mathematical thinking and learning. Regarding the structure of the book, this chapter and the historical reflection in Chap. 2 together provide introduction and background. Thereafter, the book is organized into three further parts. In the second part – Chaps. 3 through 12 – each chapter introduces a key construct or set of constructs developed from genetic epistemology and used in mathematics education research. The goal of these chapters is to support researchers who are interested to learn to use these tools. Toward that end, chapters generally introduce the constructs, provide examples from prior research, and explore related methodological considerations. The third and fourth parts – Chaps. 13 through 21 – include chapters that each provide reflection and commentary on the second part. We chose this organization centered around groups of constructs because we hope this book will be useful in fostering further research in this fruitful tradition.