<Regular Articles>The development of mathematical education in Prussian gymnasium in the reform period

This paper examines the history of the development of mathematical education in Prussian gymnasiums in the first half of the 19th century. The Prussian gymnasium system emerged from educational reform at the beginning of the 19th century under the significant influence of the neo-humanism movement and formal Bildung theory. Prussian bureaucrats and teachers who participated in the reform put a high value on mathematics as a means of training student's mental capacity. This was reflected in the educational policy of the Prussian government. The so-called S¨uvern's plan was the first standard curriculum announced by the Prussian government in 1816 and brought an increase of the hours of teaching mathematics in Prussian gymnasiums around 1820. This situation did not last long, however, because in response to student demands, the Prussian gymnasiums had to reduce mathematical education. However, the author's analysis of the annual reports published by gymnasiums shows that S¨uvern's plan brought a quantitative change in gymnasium education; the mathematical education in gymnasiums transformed from practical and utilitarian in orientation to academic and scientific and this was vital for higher mathematical education in universities