In this paper, a social and critical perspective on mathematics education is operationalized through the concepts of habitus, field, and foreground. As part of an on-going project, we have made a tentative analysis of how reliance on colours in the field of workplaces can be seen as signs of mathematical aspects of a person’s workplace competence. The analysis of this initial qualitative case study, suggests that making this kind of hidden mathematics explicit, contributes to an understanding of what mathematics may "become" in work. Our assumption is that this point of departure, in the long run, can contribute to a deeper understanding of mathematics’ function in workplaces, in society, and in school.

This article is derived from analysis of observations and an interview with, Anita, a nursing aide, who was followed in her work in a semi-emergency unit in Sweden. Based on an analysis of this information, it is suggested that the process of going from school to a workplace can be viewed as a transition between different mathematical activities, which involve and require learning. Although it is easy to see transitions occurring between different contexts, they may also occur within the boundaries of a workplace and be connected to critical moments in the execution of work tasks. Adopting a social critical perspective, this article initiates a discussion about the transitions between potentially mathematical activities in work and how the values given to these different activities can be understood. It is further suggested there is difficulty in recognizing some activities in work, because, often, they are over-shadowed by other competences and components needed in work, such as caring.

In this article, the mathematics needed for citizenship is discussed in relation to the Swedish curriculum. The article considers two approaches for discussing mathematics as demanded by, or developed within, a society: mathematical literacy and ethnomathematics. These approaches provide an alternative un-derstanding for school mathematics in relation to citizenship. In reconsidering the expectations upon the future citizen produced from implementing the cur-riculum, an argument is made for the curriculum to include elements from critical and socially responsible mathematics education, which include ele-ments of ethnomathematics and mathematical literacy. Such reconsideration is necessary because the transfer of mathematics from school to the outside world is not a straightforward matter. Therefore, it is essential that more focus is directed at citizens in the curriculum, and the transitions they undertake during their trajectories in life, to and from school.

Ce document vise à discuter des mathématiques dans les processus de travail implicites et explicites et comment ce travail pourrait être lié aux mathématiques scolaires. Cette ré exion fait partie d'une discussion plus large sur les mathématiques et leur place dans la société. Les données ont été recueillies dans une société de transport routier. Il apparaît que des ajustements des processus de travail implicites aux processus de travail explicites sont faits donnant lieu à des recherches de solutions créatives, dans des situations parfois très critiques. Identi er des expériences fondées sur la pratique des mathématiques est di cile à percevoir, car il y a un caractère insaisissable, et il y a une nécessité de mener une enquête minutieuse. Dans le processus de travail explicite, les caractéristiques mathématiques sont, par dé nition, plus évidentes. En essayant de comprendre comment faire usage de ces résultats dans les programmes de mathématiques pour les élèves en formation professionnelle, non seulement les processus de travail explicites, mais aussi les processus implicites doivent être pris en compte. Par conséquent, avant la contextualisation de tâches dans les écoles, il est nécessaire de mieux comprendre la relation entre les mathématiques dans les processus de travail explicites et des compétences implicites dans le milieu du travail.

This paper sets out to discuss the mathematics in the implicit and explicit work processes and how it might be related to school mathematics. This is part of a wider discussion about the mathematics that is valued in society. Data was gathered in a road-carrier company. It seems that in the implicit work process adjustments to the explicit work process are made when  nding creative solutions, sometimes in very critical situations. Identifying practice-based experience about mathematics is di cult to detect, as it has an elusive character, and so needs careful investigation. In the explicit work process, the mathematical features are, by de nition, more obvious. In trying to understand how to make use of these  ndings in mathematics curricula for vocational students, not only the explicit but also the implicit work processes need to be taken into account. Consequently before contextualising tasks in schools, there is a need to better understand the relationship between the mathematics in the explicit work processes and implicit workplace competences.