ABSTRACT
This contribution investigates the reciprocal influences between advancements in the Greek secondary mathematics education and in the international cooperation among mathematicians. Starting from a division in the Greek mathematical community during the early 1930s, we trace the progression that contributed to the organization of the Inter-Balkanic Congress of Mathematicians in September 1934. The congress was organized by the Association of Secondary Education Mathematics Teachers (ASEMT), in collaboration with certain professors at the University of Athens.
In the early 1930s, the Greek mathematical community experienced a division between two factions primarily led by two mathematicians who were professors in the Mathematics Department of the University of Athens: Nikolaos Hatzidakis and Nilos Sakellariou played pivotal roles in this conflict, which manifested as a broader power struggle with ramifications within the Mathematics Department, the Board of HMS, other academic positions, textbook publication, and politics.
The Association was founded in 1932 within the Hellenic Mathematical Society (HMS), aiming to address secondary education issues in a more effective manner. This initiative in secondary school mathematics coincided with efforts by certain university professors (among whom Hatzidakis held the most prominent position) to disengage from the influence of the then-President of the HMS, Sakellariou. Early on, this convergence led to the transformation of the conference into an inter-Balkan event, as an attempt to show force in the context of the antagonism with HMS.
This endeavor was a significant undertaking for the Greek mathematical community, given the absence of prior precedent for such a conference at either the national or international level. Even more so, since the HMS denounced and abstained from the conference. To ensure its success, the Association and the organizing professors undertook a series of strategic actions, notably forging alliances with politicians and university leadership.
The success of the conference led to a subsequent event, with Romanian mathematicians undertaking the organization of the 2nd Inter-Balkan Congress of mathematicians in 1937. Significantly, the HMS participated in this congress, strengthening the unity of the Greek mathematical community. Concurrently, in 1936, the publication of the Revue Mathématique de l'Union Inter-Balkanique commenced, representing another facet of this international cooperation.
These developments indirectly impacted the landscape of Greek secondary mathematics education. In 1938, the dictatorial regime, which has been in power since 1936, initiated a reset of the primary and secondary education system. Through the establishing of the Organization for School Textbook Publishing, it aimed at assuming full control over that industry and moving towards a single state-commissioned textbook.
This contribution aims to provide an interpretative framework for the rationale behind the decision to have mathematics textbooks for secondary education authored by a single individual, Christos Barbastathis, who had affiliations with both the HMS and ASEMT. In addition, he concurrently served as the president of the Federation of Secondary Education Teachers until its disbanding in 1936. All organizations of civil servants were at that point disbanded as was necessitated by the dictatorial regime.
This proposal is highly relevant to the theme concerning the connections and mutual influences between the History of Mathematics Education and the History of Mathematics. Additionally, it is novel on at least two fronts: firstly, because the collaboration among mathematicians from the Balkan countries has not been extensively documented, and secondly, for investigating a significant aspect of antagonism within the Greek mathematical community during the interwar period.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Bulletin of the Hellenic Mathematical Society (1932–1938) (in Greek).
The Bulletin of the Association of Secondary Education Mathematics Teachers (1933–1936) (in Greek).
ACTES DU DEUXIÈME CONGRÈS INTERBALKANIQUE DES MATHÉMATICIENS (1938). Bulletin Mathématique de La Société Roumaine des Sciences, 40(1/2).
Zervos, P. (1934). Le premier congrès interbalkanique de mathématiciens: Athènes, 2–9 Septembre 1934. L’enseignement mathématique, 33(1–2).
Zervos, P. & Hatzidakis, N. (Eds.) (1935). Actes du Congrès Interbalkanique de Mathématiciens. Athènes: Imprimerie nationale.