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Ashley Dean

Dr. Jody Jensen

HRNS 400

15 Nov. 2023

Set Theory: An Important Element of High School Mathematics Education

Education pedagogies and curriculum are constantly changing and improving under the

continuous mission to best prepare students for their life and future careers. Math education has

shifted focus on multiple occasions to increase students' mental arithmetic skills, focus on

problem solving and real world application, and incorporate more hands-on manipulatives to

illustrate mathematical concepts. United States educators, in an attempt to better prepare our

nation to compete with other countries in the space race, launched the “New Math” initiative,

which incorporated set theory into math education beginning in early elementary school.

Although this initiative was widely disliked and was phased out after about a decade, the concept

of teaching set theory before college was not the actual problem. In this essay I will argue that set

theory is a vital mathematical building block which has many real-world applications and thus

should be taught, not in elementary school, but in high school.

Learning set theory enables students to improve their logical reasoning and analytical

thinking skills, which are useful tools in programming and other areas. Joan Bagaria, Research

Professor at Universitat de Barcelona with a PhD in Logic and the Methodology of Science,

defines set theory as “[T]he mathematical theory of well-determined collections, called sets, of

objects that are called members, or elements, of the set,” (Bagaria). Sets can interact with each

other through unions and intersections, which is essentially applying OR and AND logic,

respectively, to sets. Sets also have compliments, which apply NOT logic. These logical
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operations are highly used in programming, where we use conditional statements to determine

which path a program should follow. Outside of programming, being able to analyze how objects

can be categorized and ensuring that those sets are well-defined is a valuable skill. If you are

collecting and presenting data, it is important to be able to properly identify what group you

tested and to use clear communication to ensure that those reading your data also know your

testing population. Set theory provides tools to clearly define and explain collections of objects.

The ability to clearly define mathematical terms is paramount in the understanding and

application of mathematics. Somewhere in middle school and/or high school mathematics

students are introduced to the concept of functions. Due to the fact that set theory is not taught in

the earlier grade levels, a precise definition for a function is rather difficult to express. In fact,

Google defines a function as, “a relationship or expression involving one or more variables.”

This definition leaves out important qualities of a function and includes expressions that are not

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functions, such as 𝑦 + 𝑥 = 1. However, with set theory we are able to properly define

concepts such as this and avoid potential confusion. Bagaria explains, “[T]he formal language of

pure set theory allows one to formalize all mathematical notions and arguments. Thus, set theory

has become the standard foundation for mathematics, as every mathematical object can be

viewed as a set, and every theorem of mathematics can be logically deduced in the Predicate

Calculus from the axioms of set theory,” (Bagaria). Not only does this help students in math

courses clearly define what concepts they are studying, but this also allows them to recognize

mathematical concepts in the world around them. By the set theory definition of a function, “a

mathematical correspondence that assigns exactly one element of one set to each element of the

same or another set,” we can see that the relationship between people and their age, college

students and the college they attend, or songs and their time length are all examples of functions
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(“Function Definition & Meaning”). Understanding the more abstract and non-numerical

examples of mathematical concepts encourages students to apply the knowledge they learn in

math courses to other parts of their lives.

The idea of equivalence is another core concept in mathematics that can be understood

more clearly with the use of set theory and can be used to envision mathematical ideas outside of

the classroom. In set theory, you have the concept of equivalence classes, which are essentially

sets that under a certain relation are said to be equal (Bagaria). Although the equal sign is taught

in the earliest levels of mathematics education, many students don’t fully grasp the concept of

equivalence in mathematics. For things to be equal under a relation, each element has to be equal

to itself. If element A is equal to element B, then element B is equal to element A; and if

elements A and B are equal and elements B and C are equal, then elements A and C are equal.

This means that if two things are equal they are basically the same thing with different names. In

solving systems of equations, a common method is to solve for one variable and then replace that

variable in the other equation with the equivalent expression using the second variable. While

students may be able to do this on assignments, and while a portion of students actually

understand what they are doing, numbers and variables don’t always click with students.

However, with set theory you could show, for example, that a set of mammals that lay eggs are

equal to the set of marsupials; in fact these are just different names for the same set. This is

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logically equivalent to saying that if 𝑦 = 𝑥 + 4𝑥 − 2, then 𝑦 and 𝑥 + 4𝑥 − 2 are the same

thing with different names. Set theory is an easy way to incorporate real world examples into

what can feel arbitrary and meaningless to many students: numbers, variables, and expressions.

Examples of set theory may also be found well outside the field of mathematics. Any

well-defined collection of objects may be viewed as a set. Any field that has data collection can
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be viewed through the lens of set theory. For example, in political science, if a poll were taken

concerning which people agreed with specific issues, then each group who agreed with each

issue would be a set. To see the overlap of people in different groups you would take the

intersection of sets, and if you wanted to group together anyone who agreed with at least one

issue from a series of issues you could take the union of a group of sets. One of the problems

found in math classrooms is that many students do not have a vested interest in topics if they do

not see the real world application. There are frequent complaints when teaching concepts such as

how to find roots of polynomials; students feel that these skills will never be used by most of the

people in the classroom. However, set theory can be applied to almost any field. It can also help

students see and use mathematical thinking in other areas of study. Optimally, students are able

to apply knowledge across different study areas to improve their overall skills in all fields. For

example, when I write an essay I often think of the paper in terms of how I would write a

mathematical proof as that is my area of expertise. I question what I am trying to show, what I

can assume to be true, and how I need to get from what I can assume to the point I am trying to

prove. Mathematical thinking is not limited to numbers, statistics, or shapes but can improve

critical thinking skills in a variety of areas.

Due to its varied applications and its ability to make other mathematical concepts more

easily understood, set theory is generally declared the foundation of modern mathematics; thus

the United States tried to incorporate into pre-college education in the “New Math” initiative.

After the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, the United States worried that their math education

was not able to keep up with the rest of the world and introduced the “New Math” initiative

(Herrara and Douglas 85). This initiative had many goals and parts, but the most important for

the concern of this essay is that “New Math” began to introduce the language of set theory as
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early as elementary school (Herrara and Douglas 87). The idea was that students could learn the

foundation of mathematical concepts concurrently with those concepts. Numbers could be

introduced as elements of sets such as the integers, whole numbers, and real numbers. However,

there were many problems with such an early introduction to set theory.

The first of the problems found in the “New Math” teaching of set theory is that

elementary students struggled to grasp the abstract nature of set theory. Set theory was devised in

large part to properly classify and explore the concept of infinity as Bagaria states, “the essence

of set theory is the study of infinite sets, and therefore it can be defined as the mathematical

theory of the actual—as opposed to potential—infinite” (Bagaria). Infinite sets cannot physically

represent in the same way that finite sets can; thus, set theory lessons do not lend themselves to

physical manipulatives and hands-on materials, which is known to be beneficial to young

learners. Jean Piaget, a Swiss developmental psychologist, wrote a book titled The Child's

Conception of Number, which impacted math education by “emphasizing the importance of

concrete examples and physical manipulatives,” (Herrara and Douglas 85). Although set theory

can have more concrete examples, if set theory is taught in elementary schools at the same time

as the introduction to the concept of numbers, this implies that they would teach numbers as

elements of sets. The sets of numbers typically thought of, such as the natural numbers, or

counting numbers, are infinite. Thus, teaching set theory to elementary students is

counterintuitive to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and was vastly unsuccessful.

However, high school students are already learning abstract mathematical concepts; and

set theory would assist in defining such topics for them. Common Core, which has been adopted

by 41 of the 50 states in the U.S., standards have high school students learning concepts such as

the real and complex number systems, algebraic expressions, interpreting and building functions,
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geometry, probability, and interpreting data (“Standards for Mathematical Practice”). These

concepts are inherently, to a degree, abstract. The complex number system involves imaginary

numbers, which, while they do have practical applications in areas such as physics, cannot be

physically represented. (For example. you cannot have i objects.) The concept of infinity is

already taught in studies of real numbers, interpreting functions, and algebraic expression.

Therefore, high school students, unlike elementary students, are able to grasp the abstract nature

of set theory. Set theory would allow all the concepts to be united under the same terminology. In

these areas of study one can see many examples of subsets, which can be defined “𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵

expresses that A is a subset of B, i.e., every member of A is a member of B,” (Bagaria). The real

numbers are a subset of the complex numbers; the set of all squares is a subset of the set of all

rectangles; and the sample population is a subset of the entire population in statistics. Math

builds upon itself, and different branches of mathematics are connected. However, this can be

difficult for students to notice without unifying language or the similarities between branches

being specifically pointed out. Teaching set theory as a unit in early high school would allow

connections between math concepts to be formed more clearly, making formulas, theorems, and

concepts seem less arbitrary and more meaningful.

Another problem found in the “New Math” teaching of set theory was the teachers in

elementary school were not adequately prepared to teach the subject; meanwhile, high school

teachers would not have this problem. Due to the fact that set theory hadn’t been taught in K-12

prior to “New Math,” the elementary school teachers in charge of instructing young minds had

never learned what they were now tasked with teaching. In addition,“[f]ew elementary school

teachers were mathematics specialists, and little inservice training was offered to help them

understand and implement the new curriculum ideas and materials,” (Herrara and Douglas 87).
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The teaching of set theory was meant to be woven into students’ foundational understanding of

mathematics; but with teachers who primarily were not math specialists in the first place and did

not learn math through set theory, it is not surprising this was ineffective. However, high school

math teachers are, in fact, math specialists. The math degree requirements for a secondary math

education major are nearly the same as the degree requirements for pure math majors. Set theory

is typically taught in a fundamental math course that is a prerequisite for many other upper

division math courses. For example, at Missouri Southern State University set theory is taught in

Foundations of Mathematical Thought and is a prerequisite for classes such as Abstract Algebra

and Linear Algebra (“Mathematics Education Major, Grades 9-12, BSE, ES15”). Therefore a

majority of high school math teachers have been taught set theory and used it in multiple

courses. They would be perfectly able to teach set theory to high schoolers and properly

incorporate it into the material that is already being taught at the high school level.

The last major problem with the “New Math” initiative is that parents struggled to help

their elementary students with their math homework, which made parents upset; however, high

school students are not normally helped by their parents with math homework anyway. In an

article by Asher Isbrucker interviewing Christopher J. Phillips, author of The New Math: A

Political History, Isbrucker explains that parents were amongst the most concerned and confused

about “New Math”, “frequently voicing concern over the strange, unfamiliar math homework

their children were bringing home,” (Isbrucker). While most parents probably expect to reach a

point in their child’s education when they are not able to help them with their homework,

reaching this point in elementary school was probably startling. The parent outrage led to “New

Math” criticisms making their way into pop culture. One can observe this in a clip from The

Incredibles 2, which was set in the 1960s, “Dash: That’s not the way you’re supposed to do it,
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Dad. They want us to do it this way. Bob: I don’t know that way. Why would they change math?

Math is math. Math is math!” (Isbrucker). The parent outrage was, perhaps, the greatest barrier

“New Math” faced. The hatred of “New Math” still is being referenced in the media despite

being phased out in the early 1970s, and this is likely why the idea of bringing back some “New

Math” principles is not really being discussed by anyone. However, this would not be as much of

a problem at the high-school level. Most parents are not able to help their children with

high-school math homework with the current curriculum. This would perhaps result in a small

decrease in the number of parents able to help their children; however, by the time students enter

high school, they should be able to navigate the internet confidently and find resources such as

Chegg, Symbolab, YouTube, Wolfram Alpha, and other math resources that are readily available

for students.

Not only would teaching set theory in high school not have the same problems that

teaching it in elementary school had, but we also have some evidence that teaching it in high

school is beneficial. According to Phillips, “High school new math, by and large, was a huge

success. People don’t even sometimes remember that new math reformed the way high school

teaching was done, because what they focus on is elementary school math. And then that was

much harder to change,” (Isbrucker). If one looks past the elementary school failures, “New

Math” was successful. There were few enough high school math teachers that teacher training

for the new curriculum was able to be done effectively. High school students were able to

understand the fundamental mathematics being taught.

Set theory must be taught in the correct way for it to be beneficial, so we should teach it

at the start of a first high school math course and apply throughout other courses. Set theory on

its own is very abstract and does not appear very often in people’s everyday lives. However,
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when set theory is used as a tool to teach logic, provide proper definitions, and introduce students

to the concepts of higher level mathematics it can be very helpful. If set theory were taught as a

unit in a freshman level high school math course, then the language could be used to properly

define concepts from there on. The logic of set theory is axiomatic, which is normal in

mathematics, and we aren’t generally shown in lower level math (Bagaria). The idea of building

up from axioms and defining and proving every other fact we know from those few self-evident

facts is the basis of high level mathematics. Set theory can be the first example of axioms to

students, and then axioms can be given for other topics.

Without learning set theory or something similar in high school, students who could

potentially be mathematicians are never exposed to advanced mathematics until they are well

into a college math degree. Math is most commonly thought of as computations, arithmetic, and

perhaps a little bit of geometry. However, as noted by Phillips, “Part of what [mathematicians]

hated [about previous math curriculum] is that mathematics and calculation were thought to be

the same thing. And mathematicians say the one thing I never do is calculate, like, why would I

calculate? That’s not interesting at all,” (Bagaria). Pure math is nearly a philosophy in which one

proves that theorems, which may not have obvious application in the real world, are true.

Applied mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and other scientists then use these pure math

results in real world applications. While pure mathematics does not feel helpful to most people’s

lives, without even a glimpse of this type of mathematics one both cheats students who think

they want to be math majors and those who find math as it is otherwise taught uninteresting but

would be intrigued by pure math. While this benefit of teaching set theory would not be useful to

a large percentage of the student body, it would help a small percentage and not cause harm to

others.
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While math education, and education in general, can be improved in a number of ways,

simply adding set theory to the high school curriculum will not completely fix the system;

however, continually striving for improvement is always worthwhile. An argument can certainly

be made that teaching set theory would not have much of an overall effect on math education.

However, any overarching change to math education comes with resistance and will likely have

at least a short-term negative effect. Educators must be instructed how to teach new curriculum,

and anything that significantly changes the system will have a learning curve. It is also

challenging to enact changes to curriculum, as Phillips notes, “It’s really, really hard to change

the school curriculum, especially in the U.S., just because every district and sometimes every

school or every teacher gets to pick their own curricular materials and do things their own way,”

(Bagaria). In order to get everyone on board with modifying curriculum, these changes might

need to be small and incremental to avoid (at least short-term) negative effects. Introducing a

single unit that can be woven into other sections and classes is a small step with a nice impact.

Teaching set theory is a step in the right direction to being able to explain the reasoning behind

math concepts and avoid rote memorization.

Math is not merely calculations, shapes, formulas, and equations; but math at its root is a

philosophy with set theory at its core. To not teach set theory until after most people have

finished their mathematics education journeys is a disservice to students, employers, and global

citizens. Potential future mathematicians who could solve problems that would impact various

fields and sciences might never see math for what it truly is until it is too late and they have

already found a different career field. Set theory is a first step in improving math education to

exhibit the philosophical, creative, and logical side of pure mathematics that can improve critical
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thinking, deductive reasoning, and data analysis in any field of study. Therefore, set theory

should be taught in high school.

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Works Cited

Bagaria, Joan. “Set Theory.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab,

Stanford University, 31 Jan. 2023, plato.stanford.edu/entries/set-theory/. Accessed 8 Nov.

2023.

“Standards for Mathematical Practice.” Standards for Mathematical Practice | Common Core

State Standards Initiative, Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2021,

www.thecorestandards.org/Math/Practice/.

“Function Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/function. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

Herrera, Terese A., and Douglas T. Owens. “The ‘New New Math’?: Two Reform Movements in

Mathematics Education.” Theory Into Practice, vol. 40, no. 2, 2001, pp. 84–92. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1477269. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.

Isbrucker, Asher. “What Happened to ‘New Math’?” Medium, Age of Awareness, 21 Apr. 2021,

medium.com/age-of-awareness/what-happened-to-new-math-eeb8522fc695.

“Mathematics Education Major, Grades 9-12, BSE, ES15.” Program: Mathematics Education

Major, Grades 9-12, BSE, ES15 - Missouri Southern State University - Acalog ACMSTM,

Missouri Southern State University, 2023,

catalog.mssu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=17&poid=5578&returnto=3321.