Stuart received his BSc(Hons) in philosophy from the University of Swansea in 1978 and obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (mathematics) from the same university in 1980. He had taught mathematics to ages 11-18 across the ability range at Culverhay Secondary School, Bath, for thirteen and a half years before joining the Centre for Teaching Mathematics in 1994, where he subsequently received a PhD in mechanics education.

Research Interests

Stuart is currently involved in two research projects. One project is a continuation of the work established in his PhD and involves the supervision of three part-time research students who are also full-time secondary teachers. The project is the investigation of the use of concept and parallel questions in the teaching of mechanics.

Stuart's other interest is in the philosophy of mathematics education and his other project is a collaboration with A./Prof. Robert Carson of Montana State University. The project is the writing of a book that assesses and traces the historical development of the current state of affairs in mathematics education and argues the need for a classical, liberal education. With the exception of utility, many educationalists are at a loss in justifying the teaching of
mathematics. Stuart and Robert argue that mathematics should be taught for its own intrinsic beauty, and that this can be best
accomplished within an historical account of the origins and evolution of our various cultural systems. This way the student can
live the experience as it was originally constituted and so experience the insights and the new powers of mind and ways of
knowing that attended those cultural developments.

Stuart is a member of the International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Group and is also a consulting editor of the journal THEMES (Technology, History, Epistemology, Mathematics, Environmentand Science) in Education

Details of published research papers can be found here: publications

srowlands@plymouth.ac.uk