1 Societal Demands on the Profession of the Mathematics Teacher in Iceland in a Historical Context

The histories of official teacher education and school legislation in Iceland coincide with the history of ICMI. Iceland, a marginal country in Northern Europe, may be taken as an example when evolution of societal demands on the profession of the mathematics teacher is submitted to analysis and consideration. The following aspects will be considered: • goals of mathematics teaching and the teachers ’ role as perceived by them and others • mathematics education of teachers, teacher subcultures and didactical divide • the present situation of education of mathematics teachers The century will be divided into three periods; the early 20th century, 1946 to the 1970s, and the present time. Iceland is sparsely populated (70,000 in 1900, 300,000 in 2006) and the number of mathematics teachers low, so the history is traced by historical anecdotes. Theoretical Background Iceland belonged to the Danish realm until the 1940s, and Icelandic teacher education has its roots in Denmark. Niss and Jensen’s (2002) description of the divide between the seminar tradition and university education in teacher education (81-82), and consequent teacher subcultures (160-162), applies to Iceland as well. Cooper (1985) and Gjone (1983) have als