The place of problem solving in contemporary mathematics curriculum documents

This paper reviews the presentation of problem solving and process aspects of mathematics in curriculum documents from Australia, UK, USA and Singapore. The place of problem solving in the documents is reviewed and contrasted, and illustrative problems from teachers' support materials are used to demonstrate how problem solving is now more often treated as a teaching method, rather than a goal in itself. The paper also analyses how the curriculum documents describe the growth of students' abilities in the process areas of mathematics, and assesses the guidance that this provides for teachers. At each stage, the paper suggests directions for research that would be useful in assisting curriculum documents to promote the fundamental but elusive goal of making students better problem solvers.