Algebraic wicked problems: Bridging the gap between early school algebra and socially relevant issues?

This paper aims to discuss an advance in the direction of bridging the gap between early school algebra and socially relevant issues using the idea of wicked problems. We do so by focusing on the possibilities and challenges of working with the idea of algebraic wicked in the context of planning, teaching, and reflecting on algebra lessons for young children of 7-9 years old. This endeavor is a collaboration between the researcher/teacher educator, teacher students and in-service teachers following the critical research methodology of imagining and trying to create something that does not yet exist. This paper represents partly how far we have come to formulate an algebraic wicked problem that can invite students to engage into a cultural and sociological algebraic activity and as such reports on what we have learned from trying to design and enact algebraic wicked problems.